Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 24 April 2025

Posted on 23/04/202524/04/2025 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from Thursday 24 April to Wednesday 30 April – Kachi Akpakwu, Anna Anene, Anton Cohen, Tyler Holden-Aikhomu, Naomi Ogunniyi, Jamal-Marcus Rhoden-Stevens, Leo Roncarati, Mekhi Spence-Forde, Mark Taylor and Ben Winfield

HELP WANTED – PARENTS – we need your help to ensure your child can compete at all their events this season!
Volunteering to help on the track or field at just a couple of our home and away fixtures in 2025, will give us certainty early on that the meetings can go ahead. It’s a fun way to be involved on the day, you will still be free to watch your child’s events, lunches and refreshments are always provided at our home fixtures and at most away ones too.

Please contact either GERALD ALTERMAN or ROSALIND ZEFFERTT for further information or complete this form SBH 2025 Summer Availability.
GERALD: (SBH Officials Secretary; athletics@marksman.plus.com: 07956 825781)
ROSALIND: (SBH Officials Co-ordinator: anglo.japan@outlook.com: 07973 822874)

RECENT NEW MEMBER – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to AYOTUNDE ALFONSO

TCS LONDON MINI MARATHON – The following SBH athletes will be representing The London Borough of Barnet this Saturday.
Under 13 Boys – JENSON DAY, HARRISON HENDERSON, BEN KASPAR, DENNYS PASCAL and LEWIS WARD
Under 13 Girls – LUCIA CASELENUOVA, SIENNA DARCY and GRACE ROONEY
Under 15 Boys – JESSE ABRAHAMS, SAM CLEMENTS, SAM DARCY, CALEB HILTON, EDWARD PASCAL and LADDIE SHAW
Under 15 Girls – OLIVIA ABBOTT, AMBER JACKSON, AIMEE PORTER and GEORGIA SUMMER
Under 17 Men – JOHN-MICHAEL DIRACLES, ARTHUR PHILLIPS, EUAN PHILLIPS and AIDAN MACAVOY
Under 17 Women – ERIN GIBLIN, ADANNA MAZINWOSU, POSIE SHAW, DINA SILVERMAN and EDIE WOODINGS

THE ARTHUR KENDALL MEMORIAL TRUST – Apologies for the lateness, which has just been received. All applications close 28 April.

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – They have not published their fixtures yet.

WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS – To avoid disappointment, please remember the each meeting opens on the lunchtime of the preceding meeting and other than sprints are normally full within about 48 hours. Therefore the 14 May fixture will be open from the 29 April on the ‘Roster’ site.

UPCOMING FIXTURES – I have now shown as 2 sections – The first section covers the fixtures that SBH compete in and other major fixtures – The second section covers the Open Meeting fixtures, that you have to enter yourselves.

SUMMER OPEN MEETINGS – These are the BFTTA, Lee Valley and Watford fixtures, dates highlighted in RED are open to enter – all information those fixtures that are open to enter, can be found in the ‘Open Meeting Upcoming Fixtures‘ section, which follows the ‘SBH Upcoming Fixtures For The Next 6 Weeks‘ section.

BFTTA OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – April 21, May 18, June 1, July 20, August 30.
LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – Fixtures still to be published.
WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Watford – April 30, May 14 and 28, June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, September 3.

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS SUBSCRIPTIONS – Our new Club year started on 1 October 2024. The current SBH annual subscription is £85 (following the recent 2024 SBH AGM) and the current England Athletics annual registration from 1 April 2025 is £20. The current total is £105 and should be paid NOW to; ACCOUNT NAME: SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS, BANK: HSBC, ACCOUNT NUMBER: 41308378, SORT CODE: 400426 – Please advise GEOFF MORPHITIS by email (geoffrey.morphitis@capeandd.com) when payment has been made.

RESULTS
Just to clarify, that the results I publish can be different to those that are shown on the Power of 10. The differences relate to seasons and personal best performances. For example in the recent EYAL results, an athlete in the 200m ran (24.1), and on his profile his season’s best was shown as (23.88) indoors. As the 200m indoors and outdoors are totally different type of events, I had shown the (24.1) as a season’s best. Regarding Master athletes any personal best performances relate to their current age-groups, as Club Records for Masters age-groups are in 5 year periods.

BFTTA OPEN MEETING – Took place at Lee Valley on 21 April
100m – M Round 1 H2 EYTAN POSNER U17 4th (PB 13.15 w0.1) taking .04 of a second off his 5 April time, H9 SAVAN MALLIK U20 5th (PB 11.79 w-0.7) taking .14 of a second off his 2024 time, H11 TYLER HOLDEN-AIKHOMU U17 6th (11.93 w-1.0), Round 2 H11 SAVAN finished 4th (PB 11.73 w0.5) taking .06 of a second off his H9 time, H12 TYLER finished 1st (11.65 w0.4)
200m – SX H10 SETH SAUNDERS U13 4th (PB 27.95 w0.9) taking 1.56 seconds off his 2024 time, H15 TYLER HOLDEN-AIKHOMU U17 5th (23.98 w0.0), H16 NATHAN HOWELL U20 2nd (24.01 w0.2), H21 MALACHI AMADI U23 3rd (SB 22.22 w0.8)
300m – SX H1 JEREMIAH ELLIOTT U17 5th (PB 41.48), H3 VANESSA ANSUAA U23 1st (SB 42.56), H7 BEN ROCHFORD 1st (PB 33.75) and is ranked UK No.10 in 2025, JAY PALMER 4th (PB 35.24)
400m – SM COLUMBA BLANGO T20/F20 4th (SB 49.60) taking 1.44 seconds off his 5 April time
600m – SX H2 LARISSA WILSON U20 2nd (PB 1:36.84)
800m – SX H1 PHOEBE MUSIC U20 6th (SB 2:52.93), H2 HAYLEY MCLEAN 2nd (SB 2:11.96), H4 LADDIE SHAW U17 3rd (PB 2:16.64) taking 3.84 seconds off his 2024 time

VELOCITY FEST 17 – Took place at Kingston, Jamaica on 19 April
100m – SW H3 PARIS KING U23 5th (SB 12.10 w2.7) taking .07 of a second off her 8 March time, B PARIS finished 5th (12.14 w0.0)

MARK YOUNG INVITATIONAL – Took place at West Haven, Connecticut, USA on 19 April
100m – SW 1 LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 6th (12.31 w0.8)
200m – SW 3 LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 3rd (PB 25.68 w2.8) taking .12 of a second off her 4 April time

JACK KEE MEMORIAL THROWS MEETING – Took place at Milton Keynes on 19 April
Shot 3kg – W50 STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (PB 8.40m) adding 26cm to her 29 March put, and is ranked UK No.1 V50 in 2025
Discus 1kg – SW EMMA BEARDMORE V35 (2nd Claim) 1st (36.10m), STACEY GONZALEZ V50 4th (22.45m)
Hammer 3kg – W50 B STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (35.63m)
Hammer 4kg – SW A EMMA BEARDMORE V35 (2nd Claim) 4th (SB 40.23m) and is ranked UK No.9 V35 in 2025

MT SAC RELAYS – Took place at Walnut, California, USA on 16-19 April
200m – SM E3 MICHAEL OHIOZE 4th (SB 21.33 w-0.8)
400m – SM I3 JADEN SMITH U23 (Arkansas University) 6th (SB 45.71) taking .11 of a second off his 31 January time, and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2025
Decathlon – SM JAMI SCHLUETER (University of Washington) 8th (SB 7562 points) and is ranked UK No.1 in 2025 – 100m (SB 10.78 w1.9), 400m (PB 49.10) equalling his 2024 time, 1500m (SB 4:46.71), 110m Hurdles (14.64 w1.6), High Jump (1.92m), Pole Vault (4.50m), Long Jump (6.94m w2.8/6.58m w1.8), Shot 7.26kg (14.38m), Discus 2kg (SB 40.92m) taking .29 of a second off his 4 April throw, Javelin 800g (SB 46.51)

BEACH INVITATIONAL – Took place at Long Beach, California, USA on 18-19 April
Pole Vault – SM B GLEN QUAYLE (Long Beach State University) 7th (4.84m)

PACIFIC COAST INVITATIONAL – Took place at Long Beach, California, USA on 17 April
Pole Vault – SM B GLEN QUAYLE (Long Beach State University) 3rd (4.83m)

BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL – Took place at West Haven, Connecticut, USA on 16-18 April
1500m – SM 18 THOMAS PATRICK (Boise State University) 4th (3:46.14)

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Took place at Watford on 16 April
400m – SX 2 THOMAS CADWALLADER U20 1st (PB 52.92)
800m – SX 1 JESSE ABRAHAMS U17 4th (PB 2:10.05) taking 5.03 seconds off his 2024 time, NOAH CLARKE U23 (2nd Claim) 7th (SB 2:12.50) taking 2.93 seconds off his 23 March, MATTHEW MAY U17 9th (PB 2:13.49) taking .23 of a second off his 2024 time, 3 CALEB HILTON U17 1st (PB 2:05.41) taking 5.25 seconds off his 2024 time, AMITAI BLOOM U17 4th (SB 2:07.81), MYA MAIRS-INGRAM U20 7th (SB 2:08.78) and is ranked UK No.6 U20 in 2025, YEDIDYA MAXWELL U17 12th (SB 2:13.24), 4 ADAM O’GORMAN U20 3rd (SB 2:02.62), 5 JACOB CLEMENT U20 4th (SB 1:59.24), 5 SIENNA DARCY U13 5th (2:32.30), 9 SAM DARCY U17 1st (PB 2:15.30) taking 6.12 seconds off his 2024 time – There 2 SX 5 races shown.
3000m – SX 1 JAI DARYANANI U20 1st (SB 9:48.40), 3 GIANLEO STUBBS U20 6th (8:33.32), RAFI GAYER U20 7th (PB 8:33.49) taking 1.48 seconds off his 2024 time

TOM JONES MEMORIAL – Took place at Gainesville, Florida, USA on 18-19 April
200m – Sw 4 RENEE REGIS U23 6th (SB 23.70 w-1.3) taking .38 of a second off her 4 April time, and is ranked UK No.7 U23 in 2025

PARKRUN – Can you make sure that you are registered as ‘Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’, as the link I use to select all results only shows SBH athletes. If anyone is also officiating can you please contact me and advise me where and when.

LINK TO PARKRUN RESULTS – This is the Link I use to obtain the current week’s Parkrun results, if you go to the bottom of the results, you can obtain the previous weeks results – parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=1018.
The results shown are for those SBH athletes that added SBH when they registered for Parkrun.

How to use results – Scroll down to the first Parkrun, Which will show you how many SBH runners had competed. To get all the runners details, click on “View Full Results” which will show all runners that had competed at that event. Scroll down to the first SBH athlete, which will his or her age, also if they have a OB, by clicking on the athletes name, this will show you how many Parkruns they have competed in sinc registering.

PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests

PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,280 events – 273,763 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 14,078 first timers – 35,974 PBs

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Aldenham on 19 April
ETHAN SLUTZKIN U11 14th (23.15) this was his 125th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Battersea on 19 April
DANIEL NICHOLS V40 18th (16.56) this was his 63rd Parkrun, DANIYAL JANMOHAMED U11 74th (19.01) this was his 33rd Parkrun, LILY JANMOHAMED U11 145th (20.37) this was her 35th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Canons Park on 19 April
LENARD MICHEL V55 29th (22.47) this was his 142nd Parkrun, SHONA MICHEL V50 132nd (28.33) this was her 145th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Cassiobury on 19 April
CHRIS PURDUE V35 86th (23.13) this was his 22nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Felixstowe on 19 April
ROSS HAMMOND U20 92nd (23.07) this was his 77th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Guernsey on 19 April
STUART SINGER V60 41st (24.35) this was his 466th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Gunpowder on 19 April
SCARLETT KENT U23 34th (21.04) this was her 85th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hoblngwell on 19 April
LYDIA HERRIDGE 90th (53.10) this was her 21st Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Nobles on 19 April
ROBBIE LIGHTOWLER 211th (53.23) this was his 18th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Panshanger on 19 April
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 324th (59.59) this was his 343rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Priebnitzgrund on 19 April
AMY REBECCA FRY V40 13th (25.10) this was her 22nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Pymmes on 19 April
BARRY HAWS V50 24th (PB 21.13) this was his 52nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Sandhurst Memorial on 19 April
JAMES DAVIS 37th (23.45) this was his 84th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Sandringham on 19 April
TIM PARKIN V45 64th (23.54) this was his 5th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oak Hill on 19 April
FINN MACCARTHY U23 4th (18.02) this was his 83rd Parkrun, PAUL MACCARTHY V55 44th (22.22) this was his 231st Parkrun, BRADLEY SINGER V35 61st (23.09) this was his 319th Parkrun

SBH UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 24 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.

UK YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE PREMIER SOUTH – The first fixture of three takes place on Sunday 27 April at the Norman Park Community Sports Centre, Norman Park, Hayes Lane, Bromley (Satnav BR2 9EJ).
Age-Groups Under 17 & U20 Men/Women.
Link to the timetable – YDL UAG Timetables 2025
Note: You will have to be selected by your respective Team Manager

MIDDLESEX YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE – The first fixture of four takes place on Saturday 3 May at the Perival Park Athletics Track, Stockdove Way, Perivale, Greenford (Satnav UP6 8TJ).
Age-Groups Under 13, 15 & 17 Men/Women.
Note: You will have to be selected by your Team Manager.
Those athletes who wish to compete as a non-scorer, please contact your Team Manager no later than Thursday 1 May as the declarations have to be in on Friday 2 May.

HERTFORDSHIRE AND BEDFORDSHIRE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May at the Bedford International Athletic Stadium, Barkers Lane, Bedford (Satnav MK41 9SB).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women
Link to enter on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bedstfc/
Entries Closing Date Friday 25 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a possibility that the limits will be taken up well before the race day.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women
Link to enter on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/middxtfo/
Entries Closing Date Sunday 27 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a possibility that the limits will be taken up well before the race day.

SCVAC VETERANS LEAGUE – Takes place on Monday 12 May at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups 35 and above Men/Women
Note: You will have to be a 2nd claim member of Barnet & District AC. Just turn up and you may be selected (dependant on you current performances), otherwise you can compete as a guest

EASTERN YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE – The second of four fixtures takes place on Sunday 18 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13, U15 & U17 Men/Women.
Link to the timetable – EYAL-Timetable-2025-matches-2-and-4-v1 (1)
Note: You will have to be selected by your Team Manager, Those athletes who wish to compete as a non-scorer, please contact your Team Manager no later than Thursday 15 May as the declarations have to be in on Friday 16 May

LOUGHBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL – Takes place on Sunday 18 May at the Loughborough University Track, Ashby Road, Loughborough (Satnav LE11 3TU).
Age-Groups Under U20 & Senior Men/Women.
Note: There are Guest Entries, but limited, this is the link https://www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/sports/athletics/loughborough-international-athletics/
Note: You will selected by your respective team – Loughborough athletes will compete against teams representing England, Wales, Scotland, GB&NI Under-20s and the National Athletics League

UK YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE PREMIER SOUTH – The second fixture of three takes place on Sunday 25 May at the Thames Valley Athletics Track, Pococks Lane, Eton, Windsor (Satnav SL4 6HN).
Age-Groups Under 17 & U20 Men/Women.
Link to the timetable – YDL UAG Timetables 2025
Note: You will have to be selected by your respective Team Manager

BIGISH JUMPS AND THROWS FESTIVAL – Takes place on Monday 26 May at the Chelmsford Athletics Stadium, 84-64 Salermo Way, Chelmsford. (Satnav CM1 2EH)
Age-Groups Under U20 & Senior Men/Women.
Events – High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Pole Vault, Shot, Discus, Javelin and Hammer
Link for entries – www.bedfordgames.co.uk
Entries Open Monday 14 April, Entries Closing Date Monday 19 May
Note: You will have to enter yourselves and pay the appropriate fee

OPEN MEETING UPCOMING FIXTURES, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 24 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE, THEN THOSE THAT ARE OPEN TO ENTER FOLLOWING THE 3 JUNE.

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 30 April at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 100m, 7.15pm 1500m no times over 5 minutes 30 seconds, 9.00pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 14 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 400m no under 13s, 7.15pm BMCs, 7.50pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.10pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
To avoid disappointment, please remember the each meeting opens on the lunchtime of the preceding meeting and other than sprints are normally full within about 48 hours. Therefore the 14 May fixture will be open from the 29 April on the ‘Roster’ site.
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

BFTTA OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Sunday 18 May at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Events – 75m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 400m, 800m, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump
Entry is now open via Open Track – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bft111118/
Entries Closing Date Saturday 10 May
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

BFTTA OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Sunday 1 June at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Events – 75m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 400m, 800m, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump
Entry is now open via Open Track – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bft111119/
Entries Closing Date Friday 23 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

BFTTA OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Sunday 20 July at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Events – 75m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 400m, 800m, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump
Entry is now open via Open Track – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bft111120/
Entries Closing Date Friday 11 July
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

MINI MARATHON, MAXIMUM IMPACT – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

As London’s younger sibling prepares to celebrate its 40th edition, organisers are aiming to grow it to help not just unearth and nurture the next generation of athletics talent but create a healthier future. Think of the London Marathon and it’s likely that one of the first images to pop into your head will be one of a stream of runners pouring down The Mall towards the hallowed finish line, with Buckingham Palace providing a spectacular backdrop. Covering those closing yards – the end of the route was moved from Westminster Bridge in 1994 – is an unforgettable moment for anyone who has been lucky enough to experience it and it has inspired countless people down the years to lace up their shoes. The same could be said for the event’s younger sibling, the Mini London Marathon, which has borne witness to the early stages of some of the finest careers in recent British athletics history. This year marks its 40th edition and organisers are marking the special occasion by inviting previous championship athletes back to take part in a “40th wave” around the 2.6km course, as well as celebrating the achievements of the youngsters involved.

The list of former competitors at the event reads like a who’s who of British middle and long distance running, including athletes such as KEELY HODGKINSON, MO FARAH, JOSH KERR, JAKE WIGHTMAN, LAURA MUIR, DAVID WEIR, HANNAH COCKCROFT, ALEX YEE and ALISTAIR BROWNLEE, to name just a few. “You’ve got an unbelievable alumni that includes previous winners and participants,” says HUGH BRASHER, CEO of London Marathon Events. “Some of the athletes that didn’t even win the Mini London Marathon went on to secure Olympic gold medals. “There are so many names to choose from but more recently I think of an athlete like INNES FITZGERALD. She was crowned a Mini Marathon champion [in 2022] and has gone on to represent Great Britain at the 2025 European Indoor Championships and win international medals at junior level as well.” The Mini Marathon began in 1986, and in its original guise it took place on the morning of marathon race day, covering the closing three miles of the marathon route and with the action very much focused on the elite competition between junior athletes.

Much has changed about it in recent years, however. Mirroring the main event, there is still that elite element to proceedings at the head of the fields, but now it is open to all and, since 2022 it has been given more room to breathe, taking place the day before the 26.2-mile extravaganza. The Mini Marathon provides thousands of youngsters with the opportunity to experience the feeling of running, walking or wheeling themselves along those famous roads. Whether they complete one mile (for children in reception to year seven) or 2.6km (for those in years four to 12), participants set off from Horse Guards Parade and finish on The Mall. Mass participation figures have sky-rocketed and the figure of 8257 finishers from 2023 rose to over 13,000 last year. Not only is it free for schools to enter but title sponsor TCS donates £10 – which can contribute towards things like computer or sports equipment – for each pupil that finishes. Such is the event’s growing popularity that numbers have had to be restricted to 40 pupils per school for this year’s edition, with the aim to give more schools across the UK an opportunity to get involved. Organisers are expecting over 18,000 finishers this month.

“Evolving the Mini London Marathon was very much something we started looking at around 2018,” adds Brasher. “It was a semblance of an idea of: ‘Why can’t we make the Mini London Marathon something bigger and better?’ “We wanted to keep the essence of elite competition but what else could we do? How could we do it? That’s when we had conversations with TCS as a sponsor and they just loved the whole idea of kids getting rewards, whether that be computer or sports equipment. “We then started looking at schools in more underserved communities and those where sport wasn’t intrinsically part of a typical day. The first year we put this new event on was 2022 but that was in the midst of the Tube strike, which rather affected the numbers!” Mini London Marathon organisers are now targeting 50,000 finishers by 2030, which wouldn’t be far off the estimated figure for the full London Marathon itself this year.

“Given we’re a few years into this new format, schools are starting to see the Mini London Marathon as a real fixture in the calendar,” says BEN COOPER, Event Lead at the Mini London Marathon. “They will have these dates in the diary now. Schools are coming back to the mass event year-on-year and they’re bringing different groups of children. “It’s a pretty unique experience, especially for kids who haven’t been involved in a mass participation event as well. They may have never been on a start line and they almost certainly haven’t run in front of Buckingham Palace on closed streets.” Both BRASHER and COOPER also stress the importance of making sure that the positive impacts of the Mini London Marathon aren’t just felt on the day itself but across the year. The ambition is for this to be a catalyst that helps more children to be active and, given some alarming recent statistics, there is a pressing need for that aspiration to become a reality.

In December, Sport England stated that, for the 2023-2024 academic year, just 47.8 per cent of children met guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport/physical activity every day. “We want to build this out so there’s year-round activity because of the chronic inactivity of kids in schools,” says COOPER. “It has to make a difference in the longer-term. “They’re getting their £10 per finisher and they’re starting to put that back into PE equipment, so kids can see the impact on what they do at school. “There’s a buzz of participation around it and I know, when we go into schools and meet both pupils and teachers, they are hugely excited about the event.”

Two years ago, the London Marathon Foundation also gave £1.19m to junior parkrun – a weekly event in which children aged four to 14 tackle a 2km course – to support its growth. In the first year of the partnership, 51 new junior parkruns across the UK opened and a total of more than one million children took part. “The singular purpose of London Marathon Events and the London Marathon Foundation is to inspire activity,” says Brasher. “We believe there’s a real ecosystem of: ‘Start with the Daily Mile, do junior parkrun, then do the Mini Marathon and after that the English Schools Championships’. “The more we can build that base pyramid, then the more people we can inspire into road running and athletics, creating a better sport for everyone. We’re trying to create a virtuous circle to get kids active.”

The other initiative that both BRASHER and COOPER point to is the Mini London Marathon in Schools. Born out of the pandemic, participants are invited to run, jog, walk, wheel or be guided around a two-mile course within their school setting (this year’s timeframe is from April 22 to May 2). Since launching in 2020, more than one million children have finished the event, with each pupil receiving a certificate and every school receiving a trophy for being involved. The expectation this year is that, on top of the 18,000 people running in the heart of London, more than 400,000 will take part in physical activity locally.“There’s something that’s almost unquantifiable about seeing the faces of kids when they cross the finish line, whether that be on The Mall or at their school,” says Cooper. “There is such absolute elation when they finish because it is a huge achievement. It’s priceless. You never quite know what’s going to stay with a child when they grow up. “You do think: ‘This is going to stay with them forever’ and with a bit of luck it will have a really positive impact on their future.”

BOSTON MARATHON TITLES FOR SHARON LOKEDI AND JOHN KORIR – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

LOKEDI runs course record of (2:17:22) to deny HELLEN OBIRI her third win in historic event, as KORIR recovers from fall to take men’s race in (2:04:45). SHARON LOKEDI and JOHN KORIR of Kenya were crowned 2025 Boston Marathon champions on Sunday (April 21) with LOKEDI surging clear of defending women’s champion HELLEN OBIRI in the final kilometre whereas KORIR dramatically recovered from a fall at the start of the race to take the men’s victory. Once he got back into his stride, KORIR was a class apart, making a strong move at 32km to establish a sizeable lead within a matter of seconds. Cruising home, he clocked (2:04:45) as American CONNER MANTZ was just run out of the podium places with ALPHONCE SIMBU of Tanzania edging out CYPRIAN KOTUT of Kenya for second and third places – with both runners clocking (2:05:04) – as MANTZ clocked (2:05:08). MUKTAR EDRIS, the 2017 and 2019 world 5000m champion, was fifth in (2:05:59) as RORY LINKLETTER of Canada was sixth in (2:07:02) and CLAYTON YOUNG of the United States seventh in (2:07:04).

In contrast to KORIR’S runaway win, LOKEDI went into the closing stages locked in battle with two-time Boston winner and fellow Kenyan OBIRI. But as LOKEDI entered the final kilometre, she drew clear of OBIRI to come home in (2:17:22) to slice well over two minutes off BUZUNESH DEBRA’S course record. OBIRI was rewarded with a PB of (2:17:41) as YALEMZERF YEHUALAW of Ethiopia ran (2:18:06) in third. Britain’s CALLI HAUGER-THACKERY, meanwhile, finished a fine sixth in (2:22:38). HAUGER-THACKERY ran (2:21:24) in Berlin last year to go No.2 on the all-time UK all-time rankings but Boston is a more challenging and hilly course. PAULA RADCLIFFE, who still holds the UK record with (2:15:25), clocked (2:53:44) at the age of 51.

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS NEW INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT– Many thanks to SEAN SUTHERLAND who undertook a review on the best way forward, following this a decision was made to set up a new account, and SEAN has now set that account up.

To follow our newInstagram account, from your own account, by searching for ‘shaftesbury_barnet’ or by clicking https://www.instagram.com/shaftesbury_barnet/
To Members and Parents, if you wish for any photographs to be posted on Instagram, please email them to sbh.instagram@outlook.com If you can at the same time give details on when and where the photographs was taken, plus any other comments.
Please feel free to post photographs of any special occasion, for example, your wedding day, an addition to the family.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER– Just received the March issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England Athletics March 2025 Throws Community Newsletter

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM– Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. These are the recent posts from last week.

The following photographs were taken at the first Eastern Young Athletes League at Cambridge on 13 April.

Group from left to right SIENNA DARCY, DIYA PALMER, SETH SAUNDERS, JAMES TSUI, MICHAEL OBIWULU, NAYLAH ADEEKO, GEORGINA WARMATE and

Group from left to right LOUIS XUN, ZAYNE SERVIS-HOBSON, KAYIKUNMI OMIDIJI, ANU JAIYEOLA, ANASHE MAZANPURE, PRECIOUS EBOH, BENBAMISAIYE and PRINCE-MOSES JOHN

Photograph of KYRA WILLIAMS who won the Under 15 Girls 75m Hurdles A string with a time of (12.1 nwr)

Photograph of SURAYA FROST who won the Under 17 Women’s 80m Hurdles A string with a time of (12.4 nwr)

Photograph features HOLLY RYAN who won the Under 17 Women’s 300m A string with a time of (40.1) ranking her UK No.2 U17 in 2025.

THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS

SBH 2025 SUMMER FIXTURE CARD – The SBH 2025 Summer Fixture Card has now been published on the SBH Website on 20 March 2025. This is the link to the fixture card, which you can access and print for future reference – https://sbharriers.co.uk/fixtures-results/fixture-cards/
Information on each fixture will be published in the SBH Weekly Newsletter as and when available, this is the link to the current and previous SBH Weekly Newsletters – https://sbharriers.co.uk/news/

STONEX STADIUM MEMBERSHIP – To use the StoneX Stadium facilities for training, SBH members are required to pay a fee. You can register as a member (which is free) which then entitles you to a discount. This is the link to the form to apply for membership – SBH StoneX Membership 2024-2025 The entrance fee on the membership form, cover the period 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025.

GEORGE HARRISON MBE MEMORIAL DOCUMENT – The document has been put together with contributors from LISA WEBB, MARTIN ROCHFORD, NADEEM SHAIKH, RACHEL FELTON, LIAM and JAMIE DEE, JAMES LOVELL, EMILIA ECONOMU, ALAN WELLER, KAREN HARRISON, TIM UNDERHILL, GLEN WATTS, JOANNA WINFIELD, SHAUN CLIFFORD and EUAN MACKENZIE – Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Memorial To George Harrison From Friends And Members 20 April 2023
If you wish to contribute your own memories and/or photographs of GEORGE, please email them to me, either within the email or as a separate attached word document.

CODES OF CONDUCT – SBH have now adopted the UK Athletics (UKA) and the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAF) Codes of Conduct which set out national standards of conduct for all clubs, coaches, officials, volunteers and athletes in the sport. The purpose of the codes are to clarify what behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable, the standards of practice expected and the basis for challenging and improving practice. The Codes are similar to our previous Codes of Conduct which were part of the previous ClubMark scheme. All club member and anyone undertaking a relevant role must agree to abide by the codes of conduct. The Codes of Conduct have now been put onto our Website, please read these to understand the commitments you are making by being a member of SBH.
Link to the Code of Conduct document – Codes Of Conduct Booklet 2021 (1)

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OF INTEREST CAN BE FOUND ON THE SBH WEBSITE BY USING THIS LINK – http://sbharriers.co.uk/
Section ‘About Us’, includes Annual Reports, Best Performance Trophy Awards, Individual And Relay Best Performances By Year, Club Records and SBH All-Time Top 10 T&F Performances.
Section ‘Team Managers And Competitions’, shows details of Track & Field, Cross Country and Road Relays Team Managers.
Section ‘Future Information/Results’, includes Information On Each Fixture, Summer & Winter Fixture Cards, Winter X/C Points Tables and Winter Club Championships Winners.

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS NEW CLUB KIT – They are now available to purchase from our club kit supplier, Supreme Sports – click on the link for the full range – https://www.supreme-sports.co.uk/webshop/schools-and-clubs/shaftesbury-barnet-harriers/
By opening the link, you will be on the front page, which displays the men’s items. Click on SBH LADIES for the women’s items, or click on SBH KIDS for the young athletes’ items.

CLUB HOODIES– With well over eight hundred hoodies already in circulation, this is your opportunity to join the club. The bright red hoody is made to order and has your name embroidered on the front along with the club badge and has the Club name on the back. We now have 2 styles, the original pull over style at £37 + P&P or the new one with a full zip at £40 + P&P.
Here is the link to the Supreme Sports website which if you click on it, will take YOU to the new Club Hoody and allow you to then view the full range of Club kit online – https://www.supreme-sports.co.uk/webshop/schools-and-clubs/shaftesbury-barnet-harriers/

ACCESS TO SBH CLUBHOUSE – The new Keyholders to the outside door are TY HOLDEN, CLYDE GORDON, NEVILLE THOMPSON, GREG THOMPSON, COLIN GODFREY and YAMILLE ALDAMA who all use the Clubhouse outside of normal stadium opening hours. GEOFF MORPHITIS and DAVE BEDFORD will also have a key. All other key fob holders can continue to gain access to the clubhouse via the (New) West Stand Entrance and the Trackside Door to the Clubhouse.
Link to note and details for further information – SBH Club House Door 20-01-23

PHOTOGRAPH’S – From time to time we have photographs of our members taken at meetings or presentations which we would like to use both on the website or incorporated within our report to our local newspaper. Can you please let me know if you do NOT want your photograph to be published. Also, I would appreciate if you could send me any photographs, which I can then publish on the website and newsletter.

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

CAN YOU HELP PLEASE – I would welcome any contributions From Yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents, also past warm weather training/holidays (No Club 24 please). Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF SHAFTESBURY INFORMATION – Currently I notify members (by email) using “MailChimp”. The reason I changed, was in November 2017 “Gmail” put a limit of 100 addresses that users could send to in a 24-hour period, and currently I send to approximately 850 members each issue.

On seeking technical advice “MailChimp” was recommended as the best way for SBH to go forward. There is one thing you should be aware off is that when you receive an email from me, the footer at the bottom has 4 options, of which one is “Unsubscribe Me From List”. Could I ask you not to select this as if you do you will be automatically removed from my distribution list.

SBH MIDWEEK POLE VAULT CLUB AT STONEX STADIUM – The current arrangements until further notice are that Pole Vault training is on Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 18.30pm to 21.00pm. Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk in advance and let him know if you are planning to attend.

SBH HIGH JUMPS GROUP AT STONEX STADIUM – High Jump training takes place on Monday’s from 19.00pm to 21.00pm. These sessions will be run by our High Jump Coach GRANT BROWN. There will be a charge of £10 per session.
Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk in advance and let him know if you are planning to attend

SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24

POLE VAULTERS REQUIRED FOR 2025 – To all athletes young & old – are you aware of the SBH Pole Vault sessions held at StoneX Stadium on Monday & Wednesday evenings from 18.30pm. We have room to coach more of you, why not come along and watch a session and the get involved – give it a try NOW.
Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk for more details.

STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.

SBH PRIVACY STATEMENT – In becoming a member, SBH will collect certain information about you. Can you please read the attached ‘Privacy Statement’ which contains Information on General Data Protection Regulations – SBH Privacy Statement Final April 2018

STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.

STONEX STADIUM AWARDED TRACKMARK STANDARD – Congratulations on achieving the UK Athletics Quality Assurance Standards for StoneX Stadium. This is the letter from UK Athletics and certificate showing all area that achieved compliance – StoneX Stadium Award Letter 09.11.21 StoneX Stadium Certificate

ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER – alanweller111@gmail.com

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 17 April 2025

Posted on 16/04/202517/04/2025 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from Thursday 17 April to Wednesday 23 April – Victoria Godfrey, Lola McCann-Ezekiel, Joseph Purbrick, Zurrell Quaye-Murray, Robert Rigby, Sean Sutherland, Alan Weller and Tariq Wild

JACK PETCHEY AWARD – Congratulations to YUSRA ECHOUAFNI who won the JACK PETCHEY AWARD for April. YUSRA who trains for sprint hurdles, under the guidance od JACQUI AGYEPOUNG and ANNA HIGSON, whose personal best for the 80m Hurdles is (13.56) set in the EYAL last year. Photograph of YUSRA with her award in on the SBH Instagram page.

LINA NEILSEN DISCUSSES LIVING HER LIFE WITH MS – LENA wrote this revealing article on how her life has been, following being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 17. The article was published in the newspaper “i” on Saturday 15 February.

I’m an Olympic medallist with MS – this is why I went public with my diagnosis. Team GB athlete LINA NEILSEN is starting treatment for multiple sclerosis – a decade after being diagnosed. She tells The i Paper she now wants to help others too. “For a long time, it was the worst day of my life.” LINA NEILSEN was 17 when she was rushed to hospital with paralysis of her right side. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. Nielsen had to learn how to walk all over again, and used track and field to push her into jogging, running and sprinting.

A decade later, she helped the Great Britain 4x400m squad win bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, along with her twin sister LAVIAI, who also has the disease. Now 28, LINA wants to use her platform as an athlete to provide others with support and hope, having recently agreed to start treatment after years of avoiding it. “Anytime I speak about MS, I just think about myself at 17, and what it meant for 17-year-old LINA to hear that diagnosis,” NEILSEN says. “I always wanted a thread of hope, or someone to tell me, ‘Hey, it will be fine, it’s not as scary as you think it is, you can still navigate life’.” Her first symptoms presented when she was 13, but she found it hard to explain to doctors what was going on with her body. She says: “I remember saying to one of the nurses after I ended up in A&E, ‘I can move my arm, but I can’t move my hand. I can make a fist, but I can’t close the fist. The movements are very slow, and I can’t hold a cup with the left hand, but I can with the right hand.’ I just couldn’t explain it. “I’ll never forget the nurse said to me, ‘Are you just doing this to get out of school?’ “It was so confusing. I kind of felt like I had failed. My mum was so worried.

“Even people who are much older can’t explain what’s going on in the body, because it’s just such a weird condition, and sometimes the symptoms that end up manifesting are so strange. The first mention of MS came when NEILSEN started having double vision in 2013, “but it was an optician, so I was like ‘whatever’,” but it was not until her terrifying attack of paralysis that doctors began to take NEILSEN seriously. She was able to communicate the various symptoms she had experienced over the last four years, and received her diagnosis. The dream of competing at the Olympic Games had already entered her mind after volunteering at London 2012. However, it was only after she narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Championships in 2019 that she started to think that she could make it a reality. She did qualify for the Worlds three years later, only to suffer a relapse the night before her race, which caused her to reveal her diagnosis publicly for the first time. “I noticed at the time when I had that relapse that there were a lot of comments on social media like, ‘Oh, she must have been stressed, she must have been nervous, stress is a trigger for me,’” NEILSEN says. “Stress, I’ve noticed within myself, is not a trigger, but a lot of people pool everyone with MS into one box, so I understand why that could be the obvious answer.

“But I personally think it was the food and all these people being in one place, because the World Championships in Oregon was very similar to the [Olympic] village, but a very condensed village. People are bringing in different viruses and different illnesses. “When I looked back at it, I thought, ‘God, we were just too congested.’ So I must have had a trigger from either the food, which was awful, or the amount of people there.”

She had to request special dispensation from anti-doping authorities, which was granted, to undergo a course of steroids to help her recover from that relapse, which negatively impacted her training for months. And when she made it to the Olympics two years later, the memories of her nightmare in Oregon came flooding back. NEILSEN says it was like having post-traumatic stress disorder. ”When I got into the village in Paris I was so excited, and as soon as I saw all these different athletes from different countries and the food hall, I immediately had a panic attack that I did not prepare for,” NEILSEN adds. “I didn’t think that was going to happen, but I thought this, ‘This could trigger me, and then I could have another relapse and my Olympic dreams could be shattered.’

“It’s another complex layer added to the hard life that it is being an athlete. It’s just life with a chronic condition, especially something like MS which is so uncertain.” Team GB were at least staying on “The Island”, a secluded HQ in the middle of the Seine, but the standard and quantity of the food in the village left much to be desired. “We actually all lost a little bit of weight,” NEILSEN reveals. “For the distance runners, it was fantastic, because lighter means faster. “However, for the distance, for the sprinters, lighter means slower. It’s actually one of the reasons I decided to race heavier this year, because I know what it means to race light, and it’s not fun. So yeah, I’m 6kg heavier this year!” Diet is not the only thing that has changed for the 28-year-old, who is targeting the world finals in Tokyo at the end of the season. After achieving her Olympic dream, NEILSEN took the plunge to start treatment for her MS. “I always said to my consultant, I didn’t want to start treatment because I wasn’t sure how it would affect my training,” she says. “It took 10 years for me to make that step, but all the paranoia that I had before and all the fears that I had about how it would affect my training went out the window.”

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – They have have not published their fixtures.

EASTERN YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE – The first fixture of four took place at Cambridge on 13 April.
What a superb start to the season, saw the team carrying on their 2024 success, following finishing 2nd to Chelmsford in the season end Top 6 Final. We started the 2025 season with a trip to Cambridge, and our team had a outstanding win, beating 2nd place Ipswich by some 68 points.

Match Result – 1st SBH (713.5 points), 2nd Ipswich (645.5), 3rd Cambridge & Coleridge (599), 4th Herts Phoenix (568), 5th Watford (408), 6th Colchester & Tendering (364), 7th Harlow (261)

100m – U13B A MICHAEL OBIWULU U13 1st (PB 13.4 nwr) taking .58 of a second off his 2024 time, B NOSA URUBUSI U13 1st (PB 13.5 nwr) taking .50 of a second off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.10 U13 in 2025, Non Scoring JAMES TSUI U13 (PB 13.7 nwr) taking .08 of a second off his 2024 time, KORE OMIDIJI U13 (SB 14.3 nwr), DANIEL MURRAY U13 (PB 15.2 nwr)
100m – U13G A DIYA PALMER U13 2nd (PB 14.3 nwr), B NAYLAH ADEEKO U13 2nd (PB 14.1 nwr), Non Scoring GEORGINA WARMATE U13 (PB 14.1 nwr), TEMI JAIYEOLA U13 (PB 14.1 nwr) taking .66 of a second off her 2024 time, AYOTUNDE ALFONSO U13 (PB 14.4 nwr), ELLA APPIAH-SPICK U13 (PB 15.0 nwr) taking .02 of a second off her 2024 time, AIMIE ZHENG U13 (PB 15.0 nwr), MIA BEGGI-RAYMOND U13 (PB 16.7 nwr) taking .29 of a second off her 2024 time
100m – U15B A LOUIS XUN U15 2nd (11.8 nwr) taking .20 of a second off his 2024 time, B ZAYNE SERVIS HOBSON U15 1st (PB 12.3 nwr), Non Scoring MATTHEW MURRAY U15 (PB 13.9 nwr)
100m – U15G A ANU JAIYEOLA U15 1st (12.7 nwr) taking .04 of a second off her 2024 time, B KAYIKUNMI OMIDIJI U15 1st (12.9 nwr) taking .14 of a second off her 2024 time, Non Scoring ANASHE MAPANZURE U15 (PB 13.9 nwr), AVERY ANDOH U15 (PB 13.9 nwr) taking .11 of a second off her 9 March time, KAIA VAUGHAN U15 (PB 14.0 nwr) taking .50 of a second off her 2024 time, LEXI MAI U15 (PB 14.0 nwr) taking .10 of a second off her 2024 time, PRECIOUS EBOH U15 (PB 14.7 nwr), LEXIE JONES U15 (PB 14.7 nwr)
100m – U17M A ANGEL-GIFFORD MIYA U17 2nd (11.4 nwr) taking .14 of a second off his 2024 time, B TYLER HOLDEN AIKHOMU U17 1st (SB 11.5 nwr), Non Scoring LANI JAIYEOLA U17 (SB 11.7 nwr), ASHER ESCOBAR U17 (PB 11.8 nwr) taking .27 of a second off his 2024 time, EESA ADEKUNLIE-ALI U17 (SB 11.9 nwr), KEYLLAN GENTET U17 (PB 12.1 nwr) taking .10 of a second off his 2024 time, MODE AKIN-ADEKUNBIADE U17 (PB 12.1 nwr) taking .07 of a second off his 2024 time, KACEI GRIFFITH U17 (PB 12.3 nwr), JEREMIAH ELLIOT U17 (SB 12.4 nwr)
100m – U17W A TIA AKINOLA U17 1st (SB 12.3 nwr), B HOLLY RYAN U17 1st (PB 12.1 nwr) taking .07 of a second off her 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.5 U17 in 2024, Non Scoring MOIESHA SAVAGE U17 (SB 12.9 nwr), SHENEL OKRAH U17 (SB 13.4 nwr), PHOEBE SOLOMONS U17 (PB 13.7 nwr)
200m – U13B A NOSA URUBUSI U13 2nd (28.9 nwr) taking .30 of a second off his 2024 time, B SETH SAUNDERS U13 1st (29.5 nwr) taking .01 of a second off his 2024 time, Non Scoring PRINCE-MOSES JOHN U13 (PB 31.7 nwr) taking .57 of a second off his 2023 time, MICHAEL OBIWULU U13 (SB 32.3 nwr)
200m – U13G A GEORGINA WARMATE U13 1st (PB 29.3 nwr), B SIENNA DARCY U13 1st (PB 29.0 nwr) taking 1.68 seconds off her 2024 time, Non Scoring TEMI JAIYEOLA U13 (PB 30.5 nwr), AYOTUNDE ALFONSO U13 (PB 30.7 nwr)
200m – U15B A LOUIS XUN U15 2nd (SB 25.8 nwr), B BEN BAMISAIYE U15 2nd (SB 26.8 nwr)
200m – U15G A ANU JAIYEOLA U15 1st (SB 27.5 nwr), B KAYIKUNMI OMIDIJI U15 1st (SB 27.4 nwr), Non Scoring AVERY ANDOH U15 (PB 31.5 nwr), LEXI MAI U15 (SB 33.1 nwr)
200m – U17M A ANGEL-GIFFORD MIYA U17 3rd (SB 24.5 nwr), B TYLER HOLDEN AIKHOMU U17 1st (SB 24.5 nwr), Non Scoring ASHER ESCOBAR U17 (PB 24.7 nwr) taking .07 of a second off his 2024 time, KEYLLAN GENTET U17 (SB 25.7 nwr), MODE AKIN-ADEKUNBIADE U17 (SB 26.1 nwr), JEREMIAH ELLIOT U17 (SB 26.3 nwr)
200m – U17W A TIA AKINOLA U17 2nd (PB 26.8 nwr), B ELLA BUCKLEY U17 1st (SB 27.5 nwr), Non Scoring PHOEBE SOLOMONS U17 (PB 30.5 nwr)
300m – U15B A BEN BAMISAIYE U15 2nd (PB 41.8) taking .30 of a second off his 2024 time, B JOLOMI DEYEMIN U15 1st (SB 43.1)
300m – U15G A KYRA WILLIAMS U15 3rd (46.8) taking .04 of a second off her 2024 time
300m – U17W A HOLLY RYAN U17 1st (SB 40.1), B ELLA BUCKLEY U17 1st (SB 43.0), Non Scoring ANNABELLE PANWAR U17 (PB 51.4)
400m – U17M A JOSHUA NYMAN U17 2nd (PB 53.4), B LANI JAIYEOLA U17 2nd (PB 54.9)
800m – U13B A PRINCE-MOSES JOHN U13 3rd (SB 2:39.4)
800m – U13G A SIENNA DARCY U13 1st (SB 2:34.0), B KEENYAH ADELISE U13 1st (PB 2:41.5) taking 6.17 seconds off her 2024 time
800m – U15B A AARON HIDALGO-HUDI U15 3rd (PB 2:20.3)
800m – U17M A CALEB HILTON U17 4th (2:08.1) taking 2.56 seconds off his 2024 time, B SAM DARCY U17 1st (2:14.5) taking 6.76 seconds off his 2024 time
800m – U17W A GEORGIA SUMMERS U17 5th (PB 2:46.2)
1500m – U13B A LEWIS WARD U13 2nd (PB 4:55.7), B JAKE MICHALIK U13 3rd (PB 5:19.5) taking 10.65 seconds off his 2024 time
1500m – U13G A AMELIA WILKES U15 2nd (PB 5:42.1)
1500m – U15B A ROAN PARKES U15 5th (SB 5:08.6)
1500m – U17M A ARTHUR PHILLIPS U17 2nd (4:21.2), B SAM TURNER U17 1st (4:22.2) taking 1.5 seconds off his 2024 time, Non Scoring JESSE ABRAHAMS U17 (PB 4:23.8) taking 1.74 seconds off his 2 April time, LADDIE SHAW U17 (4:51.4)
1500m – U17W A POSIE SHAW U17 1st (4:38.3)
70m Hurdles – U13G A SIENNA DARCY U13 1st (11.8 nwr) taking .94 of a second off her 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.2 U13 in 2025, B AIMIE ZHENG U13 3rd (PB 14.6 nwr), Non Scoring MIA BEGGI-RAYMOND U13 (PB 14.8 nwr)
75m Hurdles – U13B A SETH SAUNDERS U13 1st (12.5 nwr) taking 2.27 seconds off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.2 U13 in 2025, B DANIEL MURRAY U13 2nd (PB 15.8 nwr)
75m Hurdles – U15G A KYRA WILLIAMS U15 1st (12.1 nwr), B LEXI MAI U15 2nd (SB 14.4 nwr)
80m Hurdles – U15B A KAYDEN THOMAS U15 1st (SB 11.9 nwr), B ROAN PARKES U15 1st (PB 14.9 nwr)
80m Hurdles – U17W B SURAYA FROST U17 1st (SB 12.4 nwr)
100m Hurdles – U17M A SETH RENNIE-RODDY U17 1st (SB 14.4 nwr), B ASHER ESCOBAR U17 1st (PB 15.3 nwr) taking .24 of a second off his 2024 time
High Jump – U13B A JAMES TSUI U13 2nd (1.35m), B LEWIS WARD U13 3rd (PB 1.10m)
High Jump – U15B A ROAN PARKES U17 3rd (SB 1.30m)
High Jump – U17W A ELLA BUCKLEY U17 2nd (SB 1.40m), B AMY HALLETT U17 2nd (1.30m)
Pole Vault – U15B A NOAH VAN DEN BURGH U15 1st (3.60m)
Pole Vault – U17M A ISAAC VAN DEN BURGH U17 1st (PB 4.20m) adding 16cm to his 2024 height, and is ranked equal UK No.4 U17 in 2025, Non Scoring THOMAS ROBERTSON U17 (3.70m), WILLIAM SYLVESTER U17 (3.20m)
Long Jump – U13B A JAMES TSUI U13 1st (PB 4.43m nwr) equalling his 26 January jump, B SETH SAUNDERS U13 1st (4.15m nwr) adding 17cm to his 2024 jump
Long Jump – U13G A KEENYAH ADELISE U13 6th (3.27m nwr), Non Scoring KAIA VAUGHAN U15 (SB 3.56m), MIA BEGGI-RAYMOND U15 (SB 2.94m), AIMIE ZHENG U15 (PB 2.23m)
Long Jump – U15B A KAYDEN THOMAS U15 1st (PB 5.40m nwr) adding 1.66m to his 2024 jump, B BEN BAMISAIYE U15 2nd (SB 4.37m nwr), Non Scoring MATTHEW MURRAY U15 (PB 3.85m)
Long Jump – U15G A ANU JAIYEOLA U15 3rd (SB 4.42m nwr), B LEXIE JONES U15 2nd (PB 3.96m nwr), Non Scoring ANASHE MAPANZURE U15 (PB 3.23m)
Long Jump – U17M A HARLEY HENRY U17 1st (PB 5.63m nwr) adding 14cm to his 2024 jump, B KACIE GRIFFITH U17 1st (PB 5.24m nwr)
Long Jump – U17W A GRACE NYAONGO U17 1st (4.87m nwr), B ULANI MCCABE-HUGGINS U17 2nd (SB 4.17m nwr)
Triple Jump – U17M A HARLEY HENRY U17 1st (13.11m nwr), B KACIE GRIFFITH U17 1st (10.46m nwr)
Triple Jump – U17W A ULANI MCCABE-HUGGINS U17 1st (9.49m nwr)
Shot 2.72kg – U13G A CATALEA PETRENCU U13 5th (PB 4.24m), B NAYLAH ADEEKO U13 4th (PB 3.62m)
Shot 3kg – U13B A NOSA URUBUSI U13 1st (7.42m), B AIMON PETRENCU U13 2nd (PB 5.03m)
Shot 3kg – U15G A PRECIOUS EBOH U15 4th (PB 8.04m), B LEXI MAI U15 7th (PB 10.68m) and is ranked equal UK No.7 U15 in 2025
Shot 3kg – U17W A ULANI MCCABE-HUGGINS U17 4th (SB 7.90m), B SHENEL OKRAH U17 1st (SB 7.55m)
Shot 4kg – U15B A AARON HIDALGO-HUDI U15 3rd (PB 14.35m), B DAVID HIDALGO-HUDI U15 1st (PB 12.05m)
Shot 5kg – U17M A TOBILOBA AYETAN U17 2nd (12.00m), B LAPE LAGUSDA U17 2nd (PB 3.58m)
Discus 1kg – U13B A AIMON PETRENCU U13 3rd (PB 11.46m), B PRINCE-MOSES JOHN U13 3rd (PB 6.93m)
Discus 0.75kg – U13G A GEORGINA WARMATE U13 5th (PB 9.86m), B CATALEA PETRENCU U13 2nd (PB 7.68m)
Discus 1.25kg – U15B A AARON HIDALGO-HUDI U15 3rd (PB 14.35m), B DAVID HIDALGO-HUDI U15 1st (PB 12.05m)
Discus 1kg – U15G A LEXI JONES U15 7th (PB 10.68m)
Discus 1.5kg – U17M A TOBILOBA AYETAN U17 2nd (PB 21.20m), B MODE AKIN-AGUNBIADE U17 1st (PB 21.40m)
Discus 1kg – U17W A SHENEL OKRAH U17 2nd (SB 15.28m), B ANNABELLE PANWAR U17 3rd (PB 10.67m)
Hammer 5kg – U17M A TOBILOBA AYETAN U17 1st (PB 23.51m)
Javelin 400g – U13B A AIMON PETRENCU U13 3rd (PB 14.33m)
Javelin 400g – U13G A CATALEA PETRENCU U13 5th (PB 8.90m), B AYOLUNDE ALFONSO U13 5th (PB 4.12m)
Javelin 500g – U15G A KYRA WILLIAMS U15 6th (PB 11.57m) adding 3.10m to her 2024 throw, B ANASHE MAPANZURE U15 3rd (PB 10.36m)
Javelin 500g – U17W B ANNABELLE PANWAR U17 2nd (PB 14.32m)
Javelin 600g – U15B A DAVID HIDALGO-HUDI U15 5th (PB 9.24m), B AARON HIDALGO-HUDI U15 3rd (PB 8.93m)
4x100m Mixed Relay – U13 A 2nd (58.0) SIENNA DARCY, DIYA PALMER, MICHAEL OBIWULU, NOSA URUBUSI, B 2nd (59.1) GEORGINA WARMATE, NAYLA ADEEKO, SETH SAUNDERS, JAMES TSUI, U15 A 1st (51.3) KAYIKUNMI OMIDIJI, ANU JAIYEOLA, ZAYN SERVIS HOBSON, LOUIS XUN, U15 B 1st (57.0) PRECIOUS EBOH, ANASHE MAZANPURE, PRINCE-MOSES JOHN, BEN BAMISAIYE, U17M A 1st (47.3) TIA AKINOLA, HOLLY RYAN, ANGEL-GIFFORD MIYA, JOSHUA NYMAN, U17M B 1st (49.6) ELLA BUCKLEY, MOIESHA SAVAGE, TYLER HOLDEN-AIKHOMU, HARLEY HENRY

EUROPEAN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Leuven, Belgium on 12-13 April
10K Road – BETH POTTER 14th (32.16)

ARKANSAS SPRING INVITATIONAL – Took place at Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA on 12 April
200m – SM 5 JADEN SMITH U23 (Arkansas University) 2nd (SB 20.80 w4.0)

YALE/HARVARD V OXFORD/CAMBRIDGE – Took place at New Haven, Connecticut, USA on 12 April
100m – SW LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 4th (12.46 w5.4)

WOODFORD GREEN WITH ESSEX LADIES OPEN MEETING – Took place at Woodford Green on 12 April
Discus 2kg – SM GABOR KISS V40 1st (40.76m)

KINGSTON AND POLY AC OPEN MEETING – Took place at Kingston on 12 April
Discus 1kg – U17W ELKIE BAKER U17 (2nd Claim) 1st (PB 40.07m) adding 1.50m to her 2024 throw, and is ranked UK No.1 U17 in 2025

44 FARMS TEAM INVITATIONAL – Took place at College Station, Texas, USA on 11-12 April
100m Hurdles – SW 3 LILY PARRIS U23 (Princeton University 2nd Claim) 7th (SB 14.58 w2.6) taking .55 of a second off her 4 April time
110m Hurdles – SM 2 JOSEPH PURBRICK U23 (Iowa State University) 6th (PB 14.52 w3.7) taking .36 of a second off his 28 March time

HIGHGATE HARRIERS 1879 SPRING OPEN MEETING – Took place at Parliament Hill on 9 April
High Jump – SX AKHALIA COLLINS U20 7th (PB 1.46m) equalling her 2023 height, ZULEIKHA COLLINS U20 8th (SB 1.46m)
Shot 3kg – W50 STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (8.07m)
Discus 1kg – W50 STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (25.67m)

MINITHON – Took place at Lee Valley on 22 March
Year 3 Boys – CAMERON MORTON 8th (114 points) 60m (10.35), 200m (36.58), Long Jump (2.00m), THEODORE BETTRIDGE 10th (111 points) 60m (11.03), 200m (38.96), Long Jump (2.33m)
Year 3 Girls – VALENTINA BJERG 1st (149 points) 60m (9.09), 200m (31.84), Long Jump (2.66m), ANEESA SPENCER 7th (120 points) 60m (10.22), 200m (37.97), Long Jump (1.88m)
Year 4&5 Boys – JAMES KING 17th (150 points) 60m (9.59), 60m Hurdles (11.84), Turbo Javelin (9.25m), SHAAYUN RANMAL 25th (194 points) 60m (9.59), 200m (32.27), Long Jump (3.28m), Turbo Javelin (9.50m) best 3 counted, KWABANA DABANKA 36th (136 points) 60m (9.79), 60m Hurdles (11.87), Long Jump (2.57m)
Year 4&5 Girls – ANAYA COLLINS 6th (158 points) 60m (9.39), 60m Hurdles (11.21), 200m (32.55), ANNIE LEON 9th (154 points) 60m (9.19), 200m (31.46), Long Jump (3.19m), NAYAH BOBB-SEMPLE 16th (147 points) 60m (9.58), 200m (31.36), Long Jump (2.85m), NOOR EMAAN ODAIDULLAH 23rd (141 points) 60m (11.61), Shot (6.36m), Turbo Javelin (12.50m), TOLU ADEKINLE 27th (138 points) 60m (10.09), 200m (36.69), Long Jump (3.21m), ANYA BOWRY 32nd (135 points) 60m (9.65), 200m (32.79), Long Jump (2.30m), ELSIE BETTRIDGE 42nd (130 points) 60m Hurdles (12.70), 200m (35.99), 600m (2:16.58), NADIA MARAS 50th (125 points) 60m (10.58), 200m (36.14), Long Jump (2.44m)
Year 6&7 Boys – NOSA URUBUSI 3rd (173 points) 60m (8.55), 200m (29.36), Shot (7.56m), SETH SAUNDERS 51st (56 points) 60m (8.62)
Year 6&7 Girls – DAMI ADEKUNLE 5th (188 points) 60m (8.76), 200m (29.85), Long Jump (4.14m), GEORGINA WARMATE 7th (177 points) 60m (8.94), 200m (29.51), 600m (1.59), KEENYAH ADELISE 17th (166 points) 200m (29.78), 600m (1.53), Long Jump (3.41m), ELLA APPIAH-SPICK 24th (159 points) 60m (9.27), 200m (30.76), Long Jump (3.33m), AYOTUNDE ALFONSO 38th (150 points) 60m (8.84), 200m (31.71), Long Jump (2.29m)

PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests

PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,280 events – 265,070 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 13,771 first timers – 36,760 PBs

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Aldenham on 12 April
PAUL LEWIS V50 5th (21.21) this was his 254th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Bartley Park on 12 April
ROBBIE LIGHTOWLER 116th (39.58) this was his 17th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Canons Park on 12 April
LENARD MICHEL V55 29th (22.37) this was his 141st Parkrun, SHONA MICHEL V50 117th (27.58) this was her 144th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Fell Foot, Newby Bridge on 12 April
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 339th (40.31) this was his 342nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Gladstone on 12 April
TAHA COCKERILL U13 70th (24.29) this was his 2nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Grovelands on 12 April
SAM CLEMENTS U15 9th (PB 19.35) this was his 16th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hackney Marshes on 12 April
BARRY CHISHOLM V65 388th (31.16) this was his 367th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Harwich on 12 April
ROSS HAMMOND U20 32nd (25.02) this was his 76th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oak Hill on 12 April
AIDEN MCAVOY U17 1st (17.25) this was his 14th Parkrun, BRADLEY SINGER V35 24th (21.42) this was his 318th Parkrun, DYLAN HEPWORTH U23 25th (21.49) this was his 40th Parkrun, STUART SINGER V60 52nd (23.28) this was his 465th Parkrun

SBH UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 17 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 28 MAY – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.

OPEN MEETING UPCOMING FIXTURES, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 17 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 14 MAY, THEN THOSE THAT ARE OPEN TO ENTER FOLLOWING THE 21 MAY.

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 14 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 400m no under 13s, 7.15pm BMCs, 7.50pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.10pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics, although entries are not open yet –
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

MYKOLAS ALEKNA SHATTERS OWN DISCUS RECORD IN OKLAHOMA – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

The Lithuanian improves his own mark of (74.35m) and becomes the first person in history to throw over 75 metres. MYKOLAS ALEKNA has shattered his own world discus record by more than a metre, with a best throw of (75.56m) at the Oklahoma Throws Series in Ramona (April 13). With its gusty conditions and favourable tailwinds, the meeting is a regular date in the calendar for the world’s best throwers and has become somewhat of a pilgrimage in recent years.

ALEKNA, who secured the Olympic discus silver medal in Paris last summer, broke JURGEN SCHULT’S now historic world record of (74.08m) with (74.35m) at the same event last year. This time round the Lithuanian raised the bar again and bettered his distance not once but twice, recording marks of (75.56m) and (74.89m).

In one of the greatest ever discus competitions, five athletes went beyond 70 metres and seven surpassed 69 metres. MATT DENNY went second on the discus all-time list three days ago with (74.25m) and the Olympic bronze medallist improved his mark to (74.78m) in Ramona. LAWRENCE OKOYE, 13 years after throwing (68.24m) in Halle, broke his British record with a best throw of (70.76m). Compatriot NICK PERCY recorded a distance of (67.73m) at last year’s edition and got close with (67.04m) this year.

Elsewhere, SAM MATTIS, who threw (70.08m) to place second behind DENNY three days ago, improved his best to (71.27m) and was third overall. Germany’s CLEMENS PRUFER recorded a distance of (71.01m) and finished fourth with OKOYE fifth.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER – Just received the March issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England Athletics March 2025 Throws Community Newsletter

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM – Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. There are no posts this week.

THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS

SBH 2024-2025 CROSS COUNTRY POINTS RACES – Take place throughout the season, the final winners hve now been determined.
Link to the final Men and Women’s points tables, following the National Championships at Parliament Hill on 22 February –Mens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25 Womens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25

SBH 2024-2025 CROSS COUNTRY CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP RACES – Take place throughout the season, the final winners hve now been determined.
Link to the final Men and Women’s Club Championship winners, following the 25 January Southern Championships – SBH Cross Country Club Championship Winners 2024-2025 Updated 25-01-25

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24

STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.

STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.

ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER – alanweller111@gmail.com

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 10 April 2025

Posted on 09/04/202519/04/2025 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from Thursday 10 April to Wednesday 16 April – Ben Bellisario, Charlotte Harris, Yann Janssen, Scarlett Kent, Eljone Kruger, Dylan Michel, Ray Powell and Roberto Roncarati

RECENT NEW MEMBERS – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to JEREMIAH ELLIOTT, ALEXIS HOWE and MATTHIAS RAZIANI

NEW CLUB RECORD – Congratulations to GABOR KISS who broke his own Masters Men 40-45 2kg Discus with a throw of (42.31m) at the Lee Valley Open Meeting on 5 April. His previous Club Record was (42.16m) set at StoneX Stadium on 29 March 2025.

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Taking place on Wednesday 16 April, is now open to enter. See upcoming fixtures.

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – They have have not published their fixtures.

BFTTA OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – April 21, May 18, June 1, July 20, August 30.
LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – Fixtures still to be published.
WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Watford – April 16 and 30, May 14 and 28, June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, September 3.

LONDON LANDMARKS HALF MARATHON – Took place at London on 6 April
ROBERT RIGBY V60 325th (PB 1st V60 1:27.19)
The photograph shows ROBERT Mayor of Westminster with KELLY HOLMES and the Deputy Mayor of Westminster

The race started at Westminster then along the Embankment to the Tower of London, then zigzagging through the City of London, finally finishing in Trafalgar Square.

WIZZ AIR MILANO MARATHON – Took place at Milan, Italy on 6 April
NAOMI TASCHIMOWITZ V35 91st (PB 2:37.35), MATT GRANT V35 132nd (PB 2:42.04) taking 5 minutes 34 seconds off his 2024 time

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETING – Took place at Lee Valley on 5 April
100m – SM 1 EMMANUEL DURUIHEOMA U23 7th (SB 10.87 w2.7), 3 TYLER HOLDEN-AIKHOMU U17 4th (PB 11.42 w3.7) taking .42 of a second off his 2024 time, 11 EYTAN POSNER U17 2nd (PB 13.19 w2.6) taking 1.05 seconds off his 2024 time
200m – SM 3 NATHAN HOWELL U20 8th (SB 23.71 w3.2), 4 TYLER HOLDEN-AIKHOMU U17 6th (PB 23.55 w3.1) taking .45 of a second off his 2024 time
400m – SM 1 COLUMBA BLANGO T20/F20 7th (51.04)
75m Hurdles – U15G 1 KYRA WILLIAMS U15 7th (SB 11.96 w1.5) and is ranked UK No.2 U15 in 2025
Shot 3kg – W50 STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (7.70m)
Discus 1kg – W50 B STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (21.57m)
Discus 2kg – SM A GABOR KISS V40 1st (PB 42.31m) adding 15cm to his 29 March throw, and is ranked UK No.2 V40 in 2025, and a new Club Record
Hammer 3kg – W50 B STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (PB 37.59m) adding 4.27m to her 29 March throw, and is ranked UK No.1 V50 in 2025

BEDFORDSHIRE OPEN MEETING – Took place at Bedford on 5 April
300m – SX 1 HARLEY HENRY U17 1st (PB 36.85)
400m – SX 1 AIDAN GAFFEY U20 1st (SB 52.21)
Discus 1kg – SX EMMA BEARDMORE V35 (2nd Claim) 1st (35.90m)

GRAND SLAM TRACK – Took place at Kingston, Jamaica on 4-6 April
100m – SM ZHARNEL HUGHES 3rd (10.13 w-1.3)

STANFORD INVITATIONAL – Took place at Stanford, California, USA on 4-5 April
400m – SM 4 JAMI SCHLUETER (University of Washington) (DQ)
5000m – SM 3 HENRY DOVER U23 (Oklahoma State University) 2nd (PB 13:45.90) taking 40.05 seconds off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.4 U23 in 2025
110m Hurdles – SM H1 JAMI SCHLUETER (University of Washington) 5th (14.38 w-0.1)
Discus 2kg – SM JAMI SCHLUETER (University of Washington) 13th (SB 40.63m)

BATTLE AT THE BEACH – Took place at Long Beach, California, USA on 4 April
Pole Vault – SM GLEN QUAYLE (Long Beach State University) 6th (4.68m)

UCONN DOG FIGHT INVITATIONAL – Took place at Storrs, Connecticut, USA on 4 April
100m – SW 3 LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 3rd (PB 12.26 w3.8) taking .18 of a second off her 2024 time
200m – SW 5 LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 4th (PB 25.80 w3.3) taking .14 of a second off her 2024 time

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Took place at Watford on 2 April
1500m – SX 2 ARTHUR PHILLIPS U17 6th (SB 4:15.51) taking 3.53 seconds off his 2024 time, 3 THOMAS CADWALLADER U20 12th (PB 4:16.36) taking 6.05 seconds off his 2023 time, SX 4 HARRISON HENDERSON U13 1st (PB 4:46.70) taking 3.53 seconds off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.2 U13 in 2025, 5 AIMEE PORTER U15 8th (PB 4:54.02) taking 1.49 seconds off her 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.9 U15 in 2025, 6 LADDIE SHAW U17 5th (SB 4:46.85), 7 POSIE SHAW U17 5th (SB 4:37.58), DENNYS PASCAL U13 8th (PB 4:38.88) taking 1.28 seconds off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.1 U13 in 2025, BEN KASPAR U15 12th (PB 4:43.02) taking 4.84 seconds off his 2024 time, 8 JESSE ABRAHAMS U17 1st (PB 4:25.54) taking .52 of a second off his 2024 time, JAI DARYANANI U20 5th (PB 4:31.06) taking 5.20 seconds off his 2023 time, EDWARD PASCAL U15 13th (SB 4:45.47)
3000m – SX 2 EUAN PHILLIPS U17 17th (PB 9:33.72) taking 1.82 seconds off his 2024 time, 3 GIANLEO STUBBS U20 3rd (PB 8:32.73) taking 4.42 seconds off his 2024 time

PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests

PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,277 events – 251,008 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 12,918 first timers – 38,764 PBs

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Ashton Court on 5 April
ROBBIE LIGHTOWLER 397th (35.30) this was his 16th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Canons Park on 5 April
PAUL LEWIS V50 3rd (PB 19.26) this was his 253rd Parkrun, LENARD MICHEL V55 29th (23.32) this was his 140th Parkrun, KAYLA MICHEL U23 52nd (25.26) this was her 55th Parkrun, SHONA MICHEL V50 101st (28.11) this was her 143rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Cassiobury on 5 April
DANIYAL JANMOHAMED U 6th (18.58) this was his 32nd Parkrun, LILY JANMOHAMED U 26th (20.54) this was her 34th Parkrun, LUCAS XIE U 62nd (22.36) this was his 4th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Finsbury on 5 April
JAMES DAVIS 307th (28.12) this was his 82nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Gorleston Cliffs on 5 April
PAUL MACCARTHY V55 54th (22.28) this was his 230th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Isabel Trail on 5 April
RUFUS KENT 7th (18.40) this was his 67th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Jersey Farm on 5 April
SCARLETT KENT U23 24th (21.58) this was her 84th Parkrun, JO KENT V55 27th (22.18) this was her 163rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Knowsley on 5 April
BRADLEY SINGER V35 13th (21.27) this was his 317th Parkrun, STUART SINGER V60 30th (23.41) this was his 464th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Panshanger on 5 April
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 264th (60.29) this was his 341st Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Priebnitzgrund on 5 April
AMY REBECCA FRY V40 41st (30.06) this was her 21st Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Seaford Beach on 5 April
MARTING GREY V80 258th (48.45) this was his 33rd Parkrun

SBH UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 10 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 21 MAY – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.

EASTERN YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE ROUND 1 – The first of four fixtures takes place on Sunday 13 April at the Cambridge University Athletics Track, 18 Adams Road, Cambridge (Satnav CB3 9AD).
Age-Groups Under U13, U15 & U17 Men/Women.
Link to the timetable – EYAL-Timetable-2025-matches-1-and-3-v1 (1)
Note: You will have to be selected by your Team Manager, Those athletes who wish to compete as a non-scorer, please contact your Team Manager no later than Thursday 10 April as the declarations have to be in on Friday 11 April

EASTERN YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE – The second of four fixtures takes place on Sunday 18 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13, U15 & U17 Men/Women.
Link to the timetable –
Note: You will have to be selected by your Team Manager, Those athletes who wish to compete as a non-scorer, please contact your Team Manager no later than Thursday 15 May as the declarations have to be in on Friday 16 May

OPEN MEETING UPCOMING FIXTURES, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 10 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 14 MAY, THEN THOSE THAT ARE OPEN TO ENTER FOLLOWING THE 21 MAY.

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 16 April at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 200m no, 7.15pm 400m no under 13s, 7.30pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.00pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=26585
Entries Closing Date Monday 14 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 14 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 400m no under 13s, 7.15pm BMCs, 7.50pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.10pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics, although entries are not open yet –
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

ATHLETICS WEEKLY 1969 TO 1987 – RICHARD SAMUEL wishes to dispose of his collection of Athletics Weekly’s, which ranges from mid 1969 to mid 1987. Most years are complete but there are a few gaps. Mostly the condition is good but a few are a bit dog eared. RICHARD suggests a donation to club funds by anyone interested and they would have be collected.
Anyone interested please contact RICHARD by email at Richard.samuel1@btinternet.com

ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER – Just received the March issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England Athletics March 2025 Throws Community Newsletter

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM – Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. There are no posts this week.

THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24

STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.

STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.

ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER – alanweller111@gmail.com

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 3 April 2025

Posted on 02/04/202509/04/2025 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from Thursday 3 April to Wednesday 9 April – Alexandra Baltazer-Hall, Grant Brown, Phillip Crout, Keyllan Gentet, Jonah Glausisz, Richard Goodman, Phillipa Lowe, Phoebe Music, Abigail Ross, Paul Simons, Claire Spurway, Alon Taylor, Kayden Thomas and Amelia Wills

NEW CLUB RECORD – Congratulations to STACEY GONZALEZ who broke her own Masters Women 50-54 1kg Discus with a throw of (27.78m) at the SBH Throwsfest at StoneX Stadium on 29 March. Her previous Club Record was (27.30m) set at Derby on on 28 July 2024.

GOLD MEDAL FOR KOJO KYEREME – The World Masters Indoor Championships took place at Gainesville, Florida, USA on 23-30 March. 1500m – M 50-54 in Heat 1 KOJO KYEREME finished in 2nd place (SB 4:18.37i) in the Final KOJO won the Gold Medal (PB V50 4:09.22i) and is ranked UK No.1 V50 in 2025, and a new Club Record.

The following was reported on the Athletics Weekly website – The final 1500m victory went to M50 800m champion KOJO KYEREME in (4:09.22). Many were expecting 3000m champion and world record-holder FRANCIS BOWEN KIPKOECH to set a furious pace but he got boxed in while KYEREME set a steady pace. Ireland’s CONOR CURRAN made a big move 400m out but the Brit kicked hard after holding him off to complete a (30.63) penultimate circuit and then despite slowing before the line (31.29) kept him clear of a fast finishing CURRAN.
MARK WILLIAMS, who pushed KYEREME all the way at 800m, was a clear third as the Kenyan KIPKOECH was unable to show his (27:45) 10km pace in fourth. Photograph shows KOJO leading the field.

GOLD MEDAL FOR PAUL OGUN – The World Masters Indoor Championships took place at Gainesville, Florida, USA on 23-30 March. PAUL OGUN (HCA) won the M35 Long Jump Gold Medal with a seasons best (6.95mi) which ranks him UK No.1 V35 in 2025

BEST PERFORMANCE AWARD – EYAL Team Managers JACQUI AGYEPONG and ANNA HIGSON were proud to present the certificate for the EYAL Under 17 Athlete of the Year for 2024 to MILLI BRIDGEMAN-ATHANASATOS. During the season MILLIE produced personal best performances in the Long Jump (4.99m w1.4) and Triple Jump (10.48 nwr). This season MILLI won the Middlesex Indoor Silver Medal in the Triple Jump (9.67i).

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Taking place on Wednesday 16 April, is now open to enter. See upcoming fixtures.

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – They have have not published their fixtures.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER – Just received the March issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England Athletics March 2025 Throws Community Newsletter

BFTTA OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – April 21, May 18, June 1, July 20, August 30.
LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – Fixtures still to be published.
WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Watford – April 16 and 30, May 14 and 28, June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, September 3.

SOUTHERN 12 AND 6 STAGE ROAD RELAYS – Took place at Milton Keynes on 29 March.
Senior Men 12 Stage – SBH Incomplete team – Leg 1 MAX WINFIELD U20 (28.30), Leg 2 TONY JACKSON V55 (18.29)
Team Result – 1st Highgate Harriers (4:10.27), 2nd Cambridge & Coleridge (4:11.52), 3rd Tonbridge (4:14.08) 47 teams finished
Senior Women 6 Stage – No SBH team
Team Result – 1st Reading (2:10.27), 2nd Belgrave Harriers (2:11.08), 3rd Bedford & County (2:16.01) 25 teams finished

SOUTHERN YOUNG ATHLETES ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Milton Keynes on 30 March.
5km – U17M SAM TURNER U17 5th (15.42) 25 runners finished

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS THROWSFEST 2 – Took place at StoneX Stadium on 29 March
Discus 1kg – U17W B ELKIE BAKER U17 (2nd Claim) 1st (SB 36.91m) and is ranked UK No.3 U17 in 2025
Discus 2kg – SM B GABOR KISS V50 1st (PB 42.16m) equalling his 2014 throw
Discus 1kg – SW B STACEY GONZALEZ V50 3rd (PB 27.78m) adding 48cm to her 2024 throw, and is a new Club Record
Shot 7.26kg – SM A GABOR KISS V50 1st (PB 11.79m) adding 16cm to his 2024 put
Shot 3kg – W50 A STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (PB 8.14m) adding 5cm to her 23 March put, and a new Club Record
Hammer 5kg – U17M B MILO RYNEHART U17 2nd (PB 45.78m) adding 4.38m to his 23 March throw, and is ranked UK No.5 U17 in 2025
Hammer 3kg – U17W B KEIRA LAKE-BRYAN U17 2nd (46.94m)
Hammer 3kg – W50 A STACEY GONZALEZ V50 1st (PB 33.72m) adding 41cm to her 23 March throw, and is ranked UK No.2 V50 in 2025
Javelin 800g – SM DANIEL DUBRAS U20 1st (PB 58.34m) adding 8.26m to his 2024 throw, and is ranked UK No.1 U20 in 2025

BLACK AND GOLD INVITATIONAL – Took place at Smithfield, Rhode Island, USA on 28-29 March
100m – SW 1 LARISSA GILES U23 (Yale University) 3rd (SB 12.69 w0.1) and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2025

RALEIGH RELAYS – Took place at Raleigh, North Carolina, USA on 27-29 March
3000m Steeplechase – SM 5 KRISTIAN IMROTH (Eastern Kentucky University) 1st (PB 8:33.56) taking 1.76 seconds off his 2024 time, and is ranked UK No.1 in 2025

TERRY LONG FSU RELAYS – Took place at Tallahassee, Florida, USA on 27-28 March
200m – SM 4 JOSEPH PURBRICK U23 (Iowa State University) 5th (PB 22.14 w1.9) taking .30 of a second off his 2022 time
110m Hurdles – SM 2 JOSEPH PURBRICK U23 (Iowa State University) 5th (PB 14.88 w0.4) taking .92 of a second off his 2021 time, and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2025

PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests

PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,275 events – 249,544 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 12,104 first timers – 39,307 PBs

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Aldenham on 29 March
PAUL LEWIS V50 7th (22.00) this was his 252nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Canons Park on 29 March
LENARD MICHEL V55 43rd (24.36) this was his 139th Parkrun, SHONA MICHEL V50 92nd (28.22) this was her 142nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Cassiobury on 29 March
EMILIA ECONOMU 77th (22.00) this was her 8th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hampstead Heath on 29 March
ETHAN SLUTZKIN U11 56th (22.32) this was his 123rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Jersey on 29 March
CLIFF GOLDING V70 94th (25.47) this was his 187th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Felixstowe on 29 March
ROSS HAMMOND U20 145th (24.58) this was his 75th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Moors Valley on 29 March
JO KENT V55 34th (21.29) this was her (sorry page not available) Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oak Hill on 29 March
BRADLEY SINGER V35 31st (21.51) this was his 316th Parkrun, DYLAN HEPWORTH U23 36th (22.02) this was his 39th Parkrun, STUART SINGER V60 68th (23.31) this was his 463rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Panshanger on 29 March
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 318th (61.24) this was his 340th Parkrun

SBH UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 3 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 14 MAY – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.

BUCS CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place from Saturday 3 May to Monday 5 May at the Manchester Regional Arena, Gate 13, Ethiad Campus, Rowsley Street, Manchester (M11 3FF)
Link to BUCS website for all information and entry process – https://www.bucs.org.uk/events-page/athletics-outdoor-championships-2024-25.html
Entries Close Tuesday 8 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee

SCVAC VETERANS LEAGUE – Takes place on Monday 12 May at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups 35 and above Men/Women
Note: You will have to be a 2nd claim member of Barnet & District AC. Just turn up and you may be selected (dependant on you current performances), otherwise you can compete as a guest

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 14 May at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 400m no under 13s, 7.15pm BMCs, 7.50pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.10pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics, although entries are not open yet –
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

OPEN MEETING UPCOMING FIXTURES, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 3 APRIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY 14 MAY, THEN THOSE THAT ARE OPEN TO ENTER FOLLOWING THE 14 MAY.

BFTTA OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Monday 21 April at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Events – 75m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 300m, 600m, 800m, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump
Entry is now open via Open Track – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bft111125/
Entries Closing Date Saturday 6 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

DIAMOND LEAGUE READY FOR 2025 LIFT-OFF – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

PETR STASTNY, chief executive of the Diamond League, on Grand Slam Track, long jump take-off zones, street athletics and more. It is 15 years since the Wanda Diamond League was created and 2025 will see a number of changes. This season will feature new and improved prize money, a new broadcast partner and, in coming weeks, a new website. There are also new rival competitions in the shape of Grand Slam Track and Athlos. Instead of athletes earning up to $10,000 at individual Diamond League meetings and up to $30,000 at the final, those figures rise to $20,000 and $50,000 respectively in selected disciplines called Diamond+ events. Some assume the Diamond League has done this as a response to Grand Slam Track offering generous prize money of $100,000 to group winners down to $10,000 for athletes who finish eighth. But PETR STASTNY, chief executive of the Diamond League, denies this. “Our prize money increase is not a reaction to any new project,” Stastny says. “We knew five years ago we would raise the prize money in 2025. “Staging an athletics competition in the way we do requires a big investment. Since we were founded, or introduced, in 2010 we have handed out close to $200 million to athletes.”

Mirroring the recent comments of World Athletics president SEB COE, STASTNY welcomes initiatives like Grand Slam Track and Athlos. “It’s good to see athletes getting more opportunities to earn more income,” he says. “Being a top athlete needs lots of focus, discipline and practise and they deserve to be paid well.” However, he says fixture clashes are not ideal. Grand Slam Track’s second meeting in Miami on May 2-4, for example, coincides with the second of 15 Diamond League meetings in 2025 in Shanghai, China, on May 3. “We usually establish our dates first and it allows other organisers to look for other non-clashing dates,” says STASTNY. “We welcome the new projects but we don’t welcome date clashes and unfortunately they seem to be happening in 2025.” STASTNY admits there has been minimal communication between the Diamond League and Grand Slam Track over fixture clashes. “We don’t approach others and they don’t approach us. We feel it could be done but we don’t feel it’s on us to ask others when to put on their dates.”

STASTNY says the Diamond League have worked closely with World Athletics, however, on the general calendar changes this season which will see this summer’s major championships in Tokyo take place in September after the entire Diamond League season has concluded with its final in Zurich on August 27-28. “We support the new calendar,” he says. “The (Diamond League) champions will get a wild card to Tokyo so it creates a narrative through the season.” Elsewhere, the Diamond League has switched from IMG to Infront when it comes to a broadcast partner. There are also plans to launch a new Diamond League website soon which will, among other things, attempt to simplify the ongoing frustration felt by fans relating to how and where to watch the meetings live on television. There are no plans, however, to expand the current street athletics events at Diamond League meetings. The first day of the two-day final in Zurich, for instance, will see some jumps and the shot put in the city centre with the majority of other events the following day in the Letzigrund Stadium.

“We like to bring athletics to the people and we see these events as being mainly a promotional tool,” says Stastny. “But they can be costly to organise so we will probably just continue to have some city events at three or four meetings a year such as Zurich, Lausanne and Stockholm.” There will be no experiments with the controversial long jump take-off zone in 2025 either. But Stastny does not rule it out being used in the Diamond League in future.

“Our sport is traditional and historic but it needs to evolve over time otherwise we’d still be jumping without a runway and doing a standing long jump as we did a hundred years ago,” he says. “We basically do not want a third of all long jump attempts to be with red flags at the stadium or fouls on TV all the time.” STASTNY draws comparisons with the ‘final three’ idea, which was introduced to bring more drama to field events but was criticised to begin with before the rules were subsequently tweaked a little to appease the critics. “There was a real shit storm and resistance when we introduced the ‘final three’ idea,” STASTNY says, “but we talked to the athletes and coaches and they got used to it. “So I think if new elements are introduced then people get used to it. If we introduce it (take-off zone) in 2026 will depend on how many jumps are legal or not legal and whether we are really improving the product or not. “We don’t have it at our meetings but we might in future. We will have to wait firstly to see what World Athletics’ evaluation of the 2024 season and what the 2025 season will begin. It (the take-off zone idea) needs to improve the offering of that discipline.”

Diamond League fixtures in 2025
Xiamen CHN April 26
Shanghai/Keqiao CHN May 3
Doha QAT May 16
Rabat MAR May 25
Rome ITA June 6
Oslo NOR June 12
Stockholm SWE June 15
Paris FRA June 20
Eugene USA July 5
Monaco MON July 11
London GBR July 19
Silesia POL August 16
Lausanne SUI August 20
Brussels BEL 22 August 22
Final in Zurich SUI August 27-28

ZANE DUQUEMIN: “COACH THE PERSON AND NOT THE EVENT” – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Former British international thrower and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers member is now guiding athletes at the Aspire Academy in Qatar and here explains his approach, his influences and why building a pathway is key. ZANE DUQUEMIN is a former Great Britain and Northern Ireland internationalist specialising in the shot put and discus. He competed at four consecutive Commonwealth Games for Jersey, achieving a best place of eighth (in the discus) in Glasgow 2014.

The 33-year-old, coach to European bronze medallist LAWRENCE OKOYE and multiple Paralympic Games medallist DAN GREAVES, is the lead “development” throws coach at Qatar’s prestigious Aspire Academy with the aim of progressing athletes aged 12-18 years from grassroots level through to Asian Games, World Championships and Olympic Games (across all throwing disciplines). Working alongside programme lead Ivica Jakeljic – coach to former Olympic, world and European hammer champion and world record holder ANITA WLODARCZYK – DUQUEMIN is also the “performance” throws coach for shot put and discus at the Academy.

How did you get into coaching? – I wanted to coach from a young age. My first throws coach in Jersey was from New Zealand and she went back over there when we were quite young. My mum ended up getting a coaching qualification just to allow us to train, but I would help out the other throwers in the group from about 15 years old and I enjoyed it. I guess I got quite a good taste of coaching early on in my career because of that. My coaching took a back seat once I went to university [St Mary’s University, London]. I focused more on my own training and I didn’t coach anyone other than my sister. After I graduated I moved to Loughborough. At that point I was still fully focused on making the Rio Olympics and I was looking for a job to help support me financially after being removed from the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). A few people at the track suggested that I should do some coaching because there seemed to be a market for it. I started coaching for Loughborough University and shortly after that I started my own coaching company.

My company took off pretty quickly. I knew the level of commitment that was required to be a full-time coach and I also knew that it would be detrimental to my training, so it was really just meant to be a short-term project until I could find another job, but I soon realised I enjoyed it – and I was quite good at it. At the time I think I was probably the first UK throws coach to promote content on Instagram and it really blew up. I was quite fortunate in that sense, I realised I could get by financially with online programming, and because of my reputation as an athlete and my relationships with other UK athletes I was soon able to develop a good training group.

Who is your greatest coaching influence? – I met my coach JOHN HILLIER when he was on holiday in Jersey. He had that typical coach mentality, so even when he was on holiday he’d come down to the track and take a couple of sessions. He obviously had no idea I’d go on to do anything – I was just a scrawny little 12-year-old who was obsessed with throwing the discus – but in the end I went to university in London just so that I could be coached by him. JOHN has been my biggest influence and greatest mentor by far. I think, as an athlete, when you spend so much time around someone, you pick up a lot of their traits. JOHN has a very unique way of getting people to work hard and he was able to squeeze performances out of athletes who should never have been anywhere near that level. He did it on a consistent basis, and he still does. There are a lot of things that JOHN did that I still apply today, especially when I’m working with the development athletes, for example knowing when to go hard on them, when to be that father figure, or when to go a bit softer. Technically and programme-wise I learned a lot from him, but I think that learning how to deal with athletes and how to push their buttons in the right way at the right time was the biggest thing I took from John JOHN.

I also spent quite a lot of time on training camps with SHAUN PICKERING and Swedish coach VESTEINN HAFSTAINSSON [coach to former Olympic champion and reigning world champion DANIEL STAHL]. I learned a lot technically from VESTEINN as he had a bit of a different approach to JOHN, but SHAUN was a completely different influence. There was a small coaching element, but it was more a sense of how to be truly professional and he questioned everything I knew about what it meant to be an athlete. Some people found SHAUN intrusive because he was opinionated and wanted people to do well. If he didn’t think someone was doing what was best for them he didn’t hold back, he’d just tell them. Not everyone appreciates that but, for me, that was something I always really liked about him. If he didn’t think I was making smart decisions he’d pull me up on it right away. He would always ask: ‘Why?’. Even if the point was irrelevant, the fact you had to think about what you were doing and justify it is something that I do to this day, so, if I’m writing a programme or I’m trying to change someone’s technique I have to truly understand why I’m doing something, rather than just going with the flow and hoping it works out. Most recently I’ve obviously been working with VICA JAKELIJIC. He’s been in Doha for ten years and he’s the top guy on the programme. He’s quite similar to JOHN in how he approaches things with athletes, but technically he also does a few things differently, especially in the hammer and the javelin which are events I hadn’t been exposed to much before I came out here, so he’s really upgraded me in those areas.

What’s your coaching style? – It’s important to coach the person and not the event, and that’s the way we try and do it here. Everyone’s programme is different based on who they are and what their body responds well to. You can’t just put people in boxes; it’s trying to take them on the path that’s right for them, as opposed to trying to squeeze them into a set programme or a path you’ve taken athletes previously. What we do at the Aspire Academy is actually very simple. We have a solid talent ID programme, we have a very simple philosophy of how we develop athletes from age 12-18 and we stick to it. We have basic principles – throwing, lifting, athleticism, gymnastics – and we let the programme run its course. If you take an athlete from point A to point B there’s a pretty good chance they’ll be at a high level as long as you’re recruiting correctly.

How would you describe the current state of throws in the UK? – Much like British Athletics as a whole, it’s a bit of a mess. What we’re doing in Qatar isn’t rocket science, but in the UK we don’t seem capable of doing that. We hope it comes together, we chop and change plans every few years, and we don’t get anywhere. The reality is, before I moved out here [in 2019], there were maybe only two other guys around my age who were coaching at a decent level. We should probably have been supported at that stage to plug a gap through to the older generation. I was offered a very small package with British Athletics as a consultant, but when I told them I was looking to move to Qatar they wished me luck; they didn’t even try to keep me, and that said everything to me. On the hammer side, the hammer circle organisation in the UK does a great job of bringing people together, but with the other events, every time something starts to gain momentum it seems to stop. Until you have a decent number of full-time coaches who are encouraged to go through CPD [continuing professional development] and upskill themselves, we’re never really going to get anywhere, that’s the bottom line. Every now and then you’ll get a freak athlete who comes out of nowhere, but without the coaching structure you can’t even begin to talk about the athletics structure and the athletes themselves. The fact is, the good athletes who come through in the UK just now, they might have supportive families and a coach who’s a good fit at the time, but often it comes together through luck as opposed to a pathway or a system. There are plenty of talented athletes who fall by the wayside and we never see them again. It’s a shame, unfortunately.

You’re balancing a full-time job at Aspire with coaching UK-based athletes remotely. What are the main challenges you’ve faced? – Remote coaching is not the same, no matter what anyone says. If you see someone in person before training you can tell if they’re having a bad day. You can have a conversation with them and they might still have a good chance of a decent training session. If you’ve got a 30-minute window on Zoom and they’re rushing around in a bad mood, that session is finished before you even start. Inter-personal relationships are never the same working online and I’ve really struggled with that. Even though I had good relationships with my athletes before I moved out here, it’s something that’s hard to maintain because everyone wants more. LAWRENCE is a relatively low-maintenance guy so he’s quite easy to work with long-distance. The challenge is when you have athletes who are a bit more emotional; that can be very difficult.

BEN CONNOR REJECTS GB SELECTION AFTER BEING ASKED TO PAY TO COMPETE – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Distance runner says he has turned down the chance to compete for Great Britain at the European Running Championships. BEN CONNOR, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, has rejected the chance to represent Great Britain at next week’s European Running Championships in Leuven, Belgium (April 11-13). The Brit was picked by UK Athletics to race in the half-marathon but declined his selection after the governing body asked athletes for a fee of up to £1100 to cover things like travel, accommodation, food, kit and staff. CONNOR, on his Instagram, stated that “England Athletics had offered to subsidise their athletes”, with UK Athletics adding that the fee “was likely to be under £500”. However, the 32-year-old, who is seventh on the UK all-time half-marathon list with 60:55, said that the national governing body was still asking for a “significant athlete contribution” and that he felt “it is wrong”.

“After a really tough few years and having previously represented Great Britain at every level across road, track and cross-country – starting as a junior right through to the Olympics in Tokyo – I was looking forward to pulling on another GB vest,” CONNOR said. “Unfortunately I have declined my selection for the European Running Championships – I’m healthy and back in full training post Seville [Marathon] and have a few races in the diary starting this weekend in Ireland, but I wanted to give clarity as to why I have declined selection. “UK Athletics are asking for a significant athlete contribution, which up until a few days ago was an unknown amount and although England Athletics have offered to subsidise this for their athletes, to which I’m sure many are grateful for, I feel it is wrong. “Representing your country is a privilege and in athletics, it’s earned via a qualifying process, which whilst not always perfect, gives everyone the same chances to gain selection.

“Representing Great Britain shouldn’t come down to who can or cannot afford to pay for it. Coming from a working class background I don’t like the potential precedence being set where people, especially junior athletes of the future don’t have the same development or competition opportunities because of finances. “Running (especially road) is the highest mass participation sport in the UK and we are asking our best to pay to represent this country on an international stage. I wish there was more transparency and honesty regarding the state of our governing bodies finances and about how our sport is being managed for this to be the position.” UK Athletics state that “athletes had to provide an expression of interest for selection” and that “we would not seek to select anyone that wasn’t aware of this requirement [maximum athlete contribution]”.

The national governing body added that as more competitions get added to the calendar it is “impossible” to fund all teams, pointing to the fact that “a number of other Olympic sports have similar models whereby competition outside the major senior championships is self-funded”. The selection policy for the European Running Championships was published on July 22 and then amended on December 11, 2024. UK Athletics is also asking athletes to contribute up to £200 to compete at this summer’s European Under-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway. The British Milers Club announced on March 10 that they will “cover the cost of self-contribution” for athletes that were “a paid up member of the BMC who achieved selection via a qualifying time at a BMC meeting”.

Read the full selection policy here

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM – Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. There are no posts this week.

THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24

STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.

STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.

ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER – alanweller111@gmail.com

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 27 March 2025

Posted on 20/03/202503/04/2025 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from Thursday 27 March to Wednesday 2 April – Dominic Bannister, Jude Bell, Douglas Curwen-Reed, Abigail Edwards, James Isaacs, Sharon Jackson, Nathan Kuti, Savan Mallik, Zanson Plummer, Ben Rochford, Roger Simons, Jeremy Sothcott, Neville Thompson, Tim Underhill and Kyra Williams

NEW CLUB RECORD – Congratulations to STACEY GONZALEZ who broke her own Masters Women 50-54 4kg Shot with a put of (8.09m) at the SBH Throwsfest at StoneX Stadium on 23 March. Her previous Club Record was (7.82m) set at Swindon on 17 August 2024.

BEST PERFORMANCE AWARDS – Club President COLETTE HURLEY and Club Chairman JOHN KELLY were proud to present two SBH Best Performance Awards – Firstly to DAVE BRADLEY who received the 2024 Services to the Club certificate and PHILIP CUNNINGHAM who received his certificate for the 2023-2024 Cross Country Masters Men 60-69 points winner.

HERTFORDSHIRE OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS NOW OPEN TO ENTER – HERTFORDSHIRE AND BEDFORDSHIRE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May at the Bedford International Athletic Stadium, Barkers Lane, Bedford (Satnav MK41 9SB).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women
Link to enter on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bedstfc/
Entries Closing Date Friday 25 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a possibility that the limits will be taken up well before the race day.

MIDDLESEX OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS NOW OPEN TO ENTER – Takes place on Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women
Link to enter on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/middxtfo/
Entries Closing Date Sunday 27 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a possibility that the limits will be taken up well before the race day.

BFTTA OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – April 21, May 18, June 1, July 20, August 30.
LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Lee Valley – Fixtures still to be published.
WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS – Takes place at Watford – April 2, 16 and 30, May 14 and 28, June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, September 3.

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS SUBSCRIPTIONS – Our new Club year started on 1 October 2024. The current SBH annual subscription is £85 (following the recent 2024 SBH AGM) and the current England Athletics annual registration from 1 April 2024 is £19. The current total is £104 and should be paid NOW to; ACCOUNT NAME: SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS, BANK: HSBC, ACCOUNT NUMBER: 41308378, SORT CODE: 400426 – Please advise GEOFF MORPHITIS by email (geoffrey.morphitis@capeandd.com) when payment has been made.

WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Nanjing, China on 21-23 March
Shot 7.26kg – SM Straight Final SCOTT LINCOLN (HCA) 12th (19.88mi)
A below par SCOTT saw him finishing in 12th place

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS THROWSFEST 1 – Took place at StoneX Stadium on 23 March
Shot 4kg – SW LYDIA ROGERS 1st (SB 8.48m) adding 20cm to her 18 January put
Shot 4kg – V50 A STACEY GONZALES V50 4th (PB 8.09m) adding 27cm to her 2024 put, and a new Club Record
Hammer 5kg – U17M MILO RYNEHART U17 2nd (PB 41.48m) and is ranked UK No.4 U17 in 2025
Hammer 3kg – U17W A MALIA ANDERSON-WATSON U17 3rd (PB 33.94m) adding 4.32cm to her 2024 throw, B KEIRA LAKE-BRYAN U17 3rd (42.54m)
Hammer 3kg – V50 STACEY GONZALES V50 4th (PB 33.31m) adding 12cm to her 2024 throw, and is ranked UK No.6 V50 in 2025
Javelin 700g – U17M ALON TAYLOR U17 2nd (SB 41.19m) and is ranked UK No.10 U17 in 2025

VAULT LONDON – Took place at Lee Valley on 23 March
Pole Vault – SX C ROSALIND ZEFFERTT V60 14th (2.37mi), D RAMSEY GILL U17 2nd (3.77mi), THOMAS ROBERTSON U17 4th (3.67mi), ISSA PHILLIPS-POPE U20 (2nd Claim) 9th (SB 3.57mi) adding 2cm to his 19 January height, GENNY HOWATT 11th (PB 3.47mi) adding 3cm to her 2 March height, WILLIAM SYLVESTER U17 12th (3.47mi), NOAH VAN DEN BERGH U15 16th (3.27mi), F ISAAC VAN DEN BERGH U17 6th (SB 4.02mi) adding 2cm to his 1 March height, and is ranked UK No.6 U17 in 2025

PRIMARY SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY FINALS – Took place at Stoneleigh on 22 March
Year 3 Boys – The winner was Alice Cokell (5.05) 38 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Warwickshire Primary (79 points) 1 team finished
Year 3 Girls – No Individual results published
Team Result – 1st Warwickshire Primary (135 points) 1 team finished
Year 4 Boys – Team Result – 1st Warwickshire Primary (187 points), 2nd Milton Keynes (250), 3rd Chigwell Schools (346) 3 teams finished
Year 4 Girls – LILY JANMOHAMED U11 5th (Hertfordshire Schools) (6.20) the winner was Rose Harris of Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (6.02) 90 runners finished
Team Result – 1st West Yorkshire (144 points), 2nd Warwickshire Primary (233), 3rd Milton Keynes (332) 3 teams finished
Year 5 Boys – DANIYAL JANMOHAMED U11 40th (Hertfordshire Schools) (8.33) the winner was Sebastian Buxton of City of Stoke (7.28) 164 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Merseyside (152 points), 2nd Leicestershire (198), 3rd Worcestershire (253), 5th Hertfordshire (332) 9 teams finished
Year 5 Girls – No SBH runners, the winner was Mari Coltherd of Leicestershire (8.03) 154 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Merseyside (135 points), 2nd Leicestershire (174), 3rd Hertfordshire (206) 9 teams finished
Year 6 Boys – WILLIAM STOCKDALE U11 19th (Hertfordshire Schools) (9.18), ARI RUBENSTEIN U11 32nd (9.29), LUCAS XIE U15 62nd (Hertfordshire Schools) (9.45) the winner was Rowan Carson (8.37) 182 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Merseyside (97 points), 2nd Hertfordshire (119), 3rd Cumbria (223) 9 teams finished
Year 6 Girl – No SBH runners, the winner was Ada Greenway of Brighton (9.11) 181 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Leicestershire (189 points), 2nd West Yorkshire (197), 3rd Merseyside (231), 6th Hertfordshire (262) 8 teams finished
Year 7 Girls – No SBH runners, the winner was Madison Kindler of Brentwood Beagles (10.12) 135 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Merseyside (212 points), 2nd Hertfordshire (218), 3rd Cumbria (226) 9 teams finished
Year 7 Boys – JENSON DAY U13 38th (Hertfordshire Schools) (10.51) the winner was Sam Cousins of Radley (9.43) 127 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Hertfordshire

VELOCITY FEST 16 – Took place at Kingston, Jamaica on 22 March
100m – SM H7 ZHARNEL HUGHES 1st (SB 10.11 w-0.5) and is ranked UK No.1 in 2025, A ZHARNEL finished 2nd (10.14 w0.1)
100m – SW H1 PARIS KING U23 5th (12.42 w-1.9), B PARIS finished 4th (12.30 w-0.3)

PENN CHALLENGE – Took place at Franklin Field, Pennsylvania, USA on 22 March
400m Hurdles – SW 2 LILY PARRIS U23 (Princeton University) 1st (PB 64.81) and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2025

PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests

PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,283 events – 252,807 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 11,916 first timers – 32,504 PBs

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Aldenham on 22 March
PAUL LEWIS V50 4th (20.44) this was his 251st Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Cassiobury on 22 March
MARTIN GREY V80 522nd (44.19) this was his 32nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hackney Marshes on 22 March
BARRY CHISHOLM V65 302nd (31.16) this was his 366th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hampstead Heath on 22 March
ETHAN SLUTZKIN U11 33rd (PB 22.26) this was his 122nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Jersey on 22 March
CLIFF GOLDING V70 72nd (26.02) this was his 186th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Kesgrave on 22 March
ROSS HAMMOND U20 19th (20.37) this was his 74th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oak Hill on 22 March
BRADLEY SINGER V35 26th (21.47) this was his 315th Parkrun, STUART SINGER V60 72nd (23.53) this was his 462nd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oaklands College on 22 March
JAMES DAVIS 38th (25.39) this was his 81st Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Panshanger on 22 March
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 247th (57.42) this was his 339th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Poole on 22 March
MARK COTTLE V35 8th (17.55) this was his 26th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Sunny Hill on 22 March
RAFI GAYER U20 1st (PB 16.35) this was his 6th Parkrun, ADAM O’GORMAN U20 2nd (PB 16.40) this was his 21st Parkrun, JACOB CLEMENT U20 3rd (PB 17.35) this was his 11th Parkrun, CALEB HILTON U15 4th (PB 17.47) this was his 23rd Parkrun, MATTHEW MAY U17 5th (PB 18.15) this was his 8th Parkrun, MYA MAIRS-INGRAM U20 7th (PB 18.58) this was her 5th Parkrun

SBH UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 27 MARCH UNTIL WEDNESDAY 7 MAY – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.

SOUTHERN MEN’S 12 STAGE AND WOMENS 6 STAGE ROAD RELAYS WHICH INCLUDE THE 15/U17 5K AND U13 3K ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Sunday 30 March at Milton Keynes.Bucks (MK14 6BN)/strong>
Start times – 11.00am U15/U17 5K, 12.00pm Men 6 Stages of 4.8K and 6 Stages of 7.2K, Women 4 Stages of 4.8K and 2 Stages of 7.2K
Entries Closed

OPEN MEETING UPCOMING FIXTURES, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 27 MARCH UNTIL WEDNESDAY 7 MAY, THEN THOSE THAT ARE OPEN TO ENTER FOLLOWING THE 7 MAY.

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS THROWSFEST 2 – Takes place on Saturday 29 March at the StoneX Stadium, Greenlands Lane, Hendon (Satnav NW4 1RL).
Entry fee for SBH members is £6 for their first event, and £9 for subsequent events. Entry fee for non SBH members is £12 for each event.
Events are Hammer starts at 10.20am, Discus and Shot starts at 13.40am and Javelin starts at 17.00am.
Entries Closed

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 2 April at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 100m, 7.15pm 1500m no times over 5 minutes 30 seconds, 9.00pm 3000m no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=26507
Entries Closing Date Monday 31 March
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

LEE VALLEY OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Saturday 5 April at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR)
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Events – 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 800m, 70mH, 75mH, 80mH, 100mH, 110mH, 400mH, Discus, Shot (full), Hammer – £10 per event.
Link to enter on OpenTrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/lvacopen/
Entries Closing Date Wednesday 2 April
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

WATFORD OPEN MEETING – Takes place on Wednesday 16 April at the Woodside Stadium, Horseshoe Lane, Watford (Satnav WD25 7HH).
Age-Groups Under U13 and above Men/Women.
Timetable – 7.00pm 200m no, 7.15pm 400m no under 13s, 7.30pm 800m no times over 2 minutes 45 seconds, 9.00pm 3000m no times over 11 minutes, no under 13s
Link to entries on roster athletics, although entries are not open yet –
Entries Closing Date TBC
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee. There are no entries on the day, and there is a probability that the limits for some or all events will be taken up well before the closing date

FASTEST AND SLOWEST PARKRUNS IN 2025 – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Statistician Tim Grose has unveiled his latest list of swift and tough courses across the UK.

Pegwell Bay in Kent has emerged as the fastest parkrun course in the latest statistical survey conducted by Tim Grose from the Power of 10. The Pegwell Bay event, which is on a two-lap course of largely gravel trail in Pegwell Bay Country Park, is judged slightly quicker than Walsall Arboretum with Battersea in third place. Pegwell organisers say: “The course is 5000m long and has been accurately measured by us with a professional measuring wheel. It consists of a two laps of the Pegwell Bay Country Park consisting of gravel trail for the entire route. “Along the route runners will benefit from the most amazing coastal views across Pegwell Bay towards Ramsgate, in addition to views along the nature reserve and intertidal mud flats that year on year attracts many wildlife enthusiasts due to its national and international waders and wildfowl.” Pegwell Bay was also judged fastest when the last survey was done in 2023.

Parkrun ‘world records’ were set by CIARA MAGEEAN and NICK GRIGGS at the Belfast Victoria event but it places sixth on the list.

With 835 parkrun courses included, the toughest or slowest event is Great Yarmouth North Beach – Top 10 fastest parkruns:

1 Pegwell Bay
2 Walsall Arboretum
3 Battersea
4 Isabel Trail (Main)
5 Bromley (Winter)
6 Belfast Victoria
7 Widnes
8 Elder Park
9 Aberbeeg
10 Marine Parade (Main)

The full list can be seen here

WORLD ATHLETICS TO INTRODUCE PRE-CLEARANCE SEX TESTS FOR WOMEN – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

SEB COE says mandatory non-invasive swab tests will be brought in to further protect the female category. Just days after losing the battle to become president of the International Olympic Committee, SEB COE is back in action as president of World Athletics and, speaking at the close of the governing body’s latest council meeting, he said “pre-clearance tests” will be introduced soon for female athletes.

These will include cheek-swab or dry blood tests and will be non-invasive. They will only be necessary once in an athlete’s career, too. New regulations, he added, will be drafted in coming weeks with the chance the tests could be introduced ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo in September. COE said: “It’s important to do it because it maintains everything that we’ve been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female women’s sport, but actually guaranteeing it. We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition. “We will doggedly protect the female category, and we’ll do whatever is necessary to do it.”

Under its existing rules, World Athletics excludes anyone from the female category who has undergone male puberty, based on research that says trans women retain a significant physical advantage even after undergoing testosterone suppression therapy. But the governing body is now citing new evidence which shows there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty and is consequently looking to strengthen its rules in this area. COE says the move is motivated by a desire to “ensure that our guidelines keep up with the latest information available to maintain a fair and level playing field in the female category”. Of course sex tests are not new in athletics. World Athletics’ predecessor, the IAAF, introduced sex verification tests in the 1950s and later at the 1966 European Championships amid rumours that several female Eastern Bloc athletes were actually men. These were, however, physical or visual tests, which are very different to the non-invasive tests proposed this week.

World Athletics conducted consultation on the current proposals earlier this year. “Overwhelmingly, the view has come back that this is absolutely the way to go,” said COE, “within the caveats raised [on testing not being too intrusive].” Asked whether he felt the policy would stand up to legal challenge and scrutiny, COE said: “Yes I am, but you accept the fact that that is the world we live in. I would never have set off down this path to protect the female category in sport if I’d been anything other than prepared to take the challenge head on. “We’ve been to the court of arbitration [for sport] on our DSD [difference of sexual development] regulations. They have been upheld and they have again been upheld after appeal.” COE said World Athletics would now identify an agency equipped to deal with such a high capacity of tests. In other news, COE said the 300m hurdles will become an “official event”, although there is no suggestion it will be brought into major championships any time soon.

Current world records are held by FEMKE BOL with (36.86) and KARSTEN WARHOLM with (33.26). British athletes CHRIS RAWLINSON and DAVID HEMERY are among those who have held the world best marks for this event in the past. World Athletics said: “The 300m hurdles will become an official event, forming part of the Competition Rules & Technical Rules. As such, it will serve all World Athletics statistical purposes, including world rankings towards which it will score as a similar event to the 400m hurdles. A list of world best performances will be kept, while conditions for setting an inaugural world record will be decided at a later stage, once the popularity of the event will have reached a meaningful level.” A new mixed 4x100m with women running the first two legs followed by two men will be introduced to the World Athletics Relays this year in Guangzhou and the Ultimate Championships in 2026.

With regards evenets, GABORONE, BOTSWANA, will host the 2026 World Athletics Relays; BRASILIA, BRAZIL will stage the 2026 Race Walking Team Championships; and NASSAU, BAHAMAS, will hold the World Athletics Relays for the fifth time in 2028. In other news, there is no change to current sanctions over Russia and Belarus. The timetable for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January was approved. The creation of a new coaching body will be investigated as well to provide a voice to coaches.

With the curtain having only just fallen on the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, COE said: “We had three days of really, really good action and it marks the start of a busy and productive year for athletics. This was the start of a three-year journey through Asia with five World Athletics events here in the next two and a half year.”

ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER – Just received the February issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England Athletics February 2025 Throws Community Newsletter

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM – Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. There are 2 posts this week.

Photograph of 6 of our runners at the Sunny Hill Parkrun, see results above. The Parkruns are used to select the London Borough of Barnet TCS London Mini Marathon teams.

Photograph of PHILIP CUNNINGHAM with his Best Performance Awards certificate.

THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24

STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.

STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.

ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER – alanweller111@gmail.com

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